Study: New Normal Does Not Mean Harm Children With Mask Policy

Illustration (Brian Wangenheim / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The spread of COVID-19 in Japan has decreased. On that basis, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ended the state of emergency for Tokyo and four other regions, on Monday, May 25. The owner of the policy also appealed to all Japanese citizens to always be vigilant about wearing masks when doing activities outdoors.

However, this appeal must be limited. This is because one of the medical groups calling itself the Japan Pediatric Association reminded that the use of masks is indeed mandatory for parents and teenagers alike. However, this is not the case with children under two years of age.

According to Reuters, children under the age of two are prohibited from wearing masks because they can make it difficult for them to breathe and increase the risk of choking. Therefore, the use of masks at that age is not recommended, given the enormous risk.

"Masks can make breathing difficult because babies have narrow airways," said the Japan Pediatric Association.

Not only that, they also said that the use of masks on babies can cause them to overheat, so unwanted things can happen if the use of masks continues to force the use of masks. "Let's stop using masks for children under two years of age," the association said in a notice on their website.

Not only the Japanese Pediatric Association. The Centers for Disease Control in the United States (CDC) and the United States Academy of Pediatrics also revealed the same thing. They were one voice in voicing that children under the age of two should not wear cloth masks.

For this reason, parents are asked not to frequently take their babies outside the house while COVID-19 is still there. The rest, they still have to apply physical distancing rules. This is one of the best steps so that COVID-19 does not spread to families at home.

So far Japan has confirmed 16,662 cases of COVID-19 transmission. Among them, there were 862 cases died.