Bahrain: Stop Mandatory Face Masks in Schools

Bahrain: Stop Mandatory Face Masks in Schools

Mandatory face coverings should be reversed immediately in schools as they can inhibit communication which could restrict learning and could create social stigma. We don't believe there is enough research about the effect that face masks can have on children in a school, so they should be made optional until there is. The 'precautionary principle' should be applied. We have significant concerns about Government guidance recommending that children wear masks in classrooms. This recommendation does not seem to be based on any scientific evidence, fails to recognise the new realities of us having offered the vaccine to the most vulnerable groups, appears to have been introduced without evaluation of potential harms, and significantly undermines the “national priority” of ensuring school children have the education that they deserve. As all the scientists keep telling us, the youngest are least affected by COVID-19. There appears to have been little or no consideration given to any of the negative outcomes of facemasks being worn in classrooms all day. The World Health Organization places responsibilities on authorities recommending face masks for children requiring the “monitoring and evaluation…measuring the impact on the child’s health, including mental health”. But this is not the case in most scenarios. Pupils all over Bahrain are having a difficult and upsetting time at school due to forced long hours of mask-wearing. Especially coming to the summer months, children do not need to be tortured any longer. Teachers need to be able to teach, not to be held back by recommendations that hinder the teaching process. Schools and teachers across the country will have to spend all their time enforcing these rules, performing their own cost-benefit analysis, and managing parents’ concerns about mask wearing, when we need them focusing on teaching. Schools are not vectors of transmission which was clearly stated globally. If you wish to keep this recommendation in place, please publish the new scientific evidence which makes this measure necessary – especially in light of the vaccination rollout – and show the evidence that this intervention has been properly evaluated for potential harms to both psychological and physical health, so that schools can make an informed decision about whether or not to follow Government guidance, and so that parents and pupils can have confidence in the measure your department is recommending. Otherwise, the Government needs to urgently reverse it or make the decision to wear masks be voluntary / optional. Thank you

Reasons why forced masks in schools pose a danger to students (links to related studies):

• No proven protection against virus https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1750-2659.2011.00307.x
• A high uptake of vaccine among adults means masks should no longer be dominating school environments
• Promotion of acne on skin in children and teenagers https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/documents/ncov/covid-wwksf/what-we-know-public-masks-apr-7-2020.pdf?la=en
• Increase in cavities in children https://www.foxnews.com/health/mask-mouth-dentists-new-term
• Increase in bacterial pneumonia https://principia-scientific.com/covid-19-masks-causing-rise-in-bacterial-pneumonia/
• Facial deformities in developing children https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20129889/
• Difficulty to communicate, whether speaking or understanding what teachers are saying https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2020/0930/Behind-the-masks-teachers-and-students-struggle-to-communicate
• Negligence from schools and Government in providing proper awareness about toxins exposure from masks https://plague.info/2021-04-05-face-masks-laced-with-cancer-causing-chemicals.html
• Restricts learning and serves as a distraction
• Creates unnecessary stress for children when masks are misplaced, lost or unavailable
• Pose a danger to children overheating when outdoors
• Asthma and allergy sufferers health conditions are being made worse without exemptions https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/12213252/people-severe-asthma-lung-conditions-not-wear-face-masks-new-rules/
• Increase of mental health conditions such as Germaphobia or OCD in children https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7324330/
• Breathing in excretion of carbon dioxide (for 8 hours a day or more) is not natural https://healthfreedomidaho.org/serious-concerns-over-masks-and-carbon-dioxide-levels/
• Psychologically harmful
• Creates division and bullying between peers
• Discriminatory against children based on the fact that seated restaurant goers are allowed to remove masks for long periods of time.
• Children are not the drivers of the spread and least at risk for infection
• Restricted breathing
• Creating fear amongst peers and potential long-term damage
• Making children socially awkward
• Children are unable to rely on reading facial cues which is critical to their development.
• Creating speech problems among young children
• Breathing in toxins from chemicals in masks
• Unproven effectiveness
• Unsanitary because children don’t use them properly
• Increased risk of Covid and Flu https://www.globalresearch.ca/face-masks-pose-serious-risks-healthy/5712649

Additional Links

1. CDC Funded Review: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/5/19-0994_article “Evidence from 14 randomized control trials did not support a substantial effect on transmission of influenza. None of the studies reported a significant reduction in virus infections in the face mask group.”

2. Stanford study published at NIH.gov proves face masks are absolutely worthless against Covid: https://www.educationviews.org/stanford-study-quietly-published-at-nih-gov-proves-face-masks-are-absolutely-worthless-against-covid/ “The existing scientific evidences challenge the safety and efficacy of wearing facemask as preventive intervention for COVID-19. The data suggest that both medical and non-medical facemasks are ineffective to block human-to-human transmission of viral and infectious disease such SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, supporting against the usage of facemasks. Wearing facemasks has been demonstrated to have substantial adverse physiological and psychological effects. These include hypoxia, hypercapnia, shortness of breath, increased acidity and toxicity, activation of fear and stress response, rise in stress hormones, immunosuppression, fatigue, headaches, decline in cognitive performance, predisposition for viral and infectious illnesses, chronic stress, anxiety and depression. Long-term consequences of wearing facemask can cause health deterioration, developing and progression of chronic diseases and premature death. Governments, policy makers and health organizations should utilize prosper and scientific evidence-based approach with respect to wearing facemasks, when the latter is considered as preventive intervention for public health.”

3. Mask Mandates For Children Mostly Harmful: Professor Of Medicine: https://thetruereporter.com/mask-mandates-for-children-mostly-harmful-professor-of-medicine/ “Children have developmental needs that require them to see other people’s faces. Learning to speak, for instance, requires seeing lips move. For slightly older children, they need to see people, the body, they learn body language, how to interact socially, by watching people. And when you ask them to wear a mask, you sort of cut that out. So you have harms on one side, and very little benefit on the other.”

4. Health Canada recalls masks containing graphene: https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/04/05/news/health-canada-recalls-masks-containing-graphene-assesses-risks

5. ALERT: Meta-Analysis of 65 Studies Reveals Face Masks Induce Mask-Induced Exhaustion Syndrome (MIES) https://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/alert-meta-analysis-65-studies-reveals-face-masks-induce-mask-induced-exhaustion-

6. Government accused of ‘turning blind eye’ to harm from classroom face mask policy https://unitynewsnetwork.co.uk/government-accused-of-turning-blind-eye-to-harm-from-classroom-face-mask-policy/

7. Masking Children: Tragic, Unscientific, and Damaging https://www.aier.org/article/masking-children-tragic-unscientific-and-damaging/

8. Disposable Blue Face Masks Found To Contain Toxic, Asbestos-Like Substance That Destroys Lungs: http://messanonews.com/2021/04/bombshell-disposable-blue-face-masks-found-to-contain-toxic-asbestos-like-substance-that-destroys-lungs/

9. Face masks are laced with cancer-causing toxic chemicals: https://plague.info/2021-04-05-face-masks-laced-with-cancer-causing-chemicals.html “Formaldehyde is used to give new face masks a “clean” smell. It is classified as a carcinogen by the World Health Organization‘s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer. Inhaling formaldehyde over a short period of time can cause burning sensations in the eyes, nose and throat, as well as coughing, wheezing and nausea. Aniline, a highly corrosive industrial chemical, is also a known carcinogen. Additionally, it is considered a pollutant of serious concern due to its high toxicity. Braungart noticed that artificial fragrances were applied to some masks, perhaps to hide the unpleasant smell of toxic chemicals. Blue-colored masks also contained cobalt, a heavy metal commonly used to produce blue dyes. “What we are breathing through our mouth and nose is actually hazardous waste,” Braungart bared. “All in all, we have a chemical cocktail in front of our nose and mouth that has never been tested for either toxicity or any long-term effects on health.”

10. Chemical Cocktail Found in Face Masks. “Breathing in Carcinogens, Allergens and Synthetic Microfibers: https://crazzfiles.com/chemical-cocktail-found-in-face-masks-breathing-in-carcinogens-allergens-and-synthetic-microfibres/ “Studies by Dr. Sedlak have also shown the presence of compounds such as 2-butanone oxime (carcinogenic) blocked diisocyanates used as crosslinkers for perfluorocarbons (PFCs) on face masks. Used in the textile sector as oil and water repellents on fabrics, by-products of PFCs are known to be bio-persistent and their use is heavily restricted by authorities in Europe and the USA. Last year, a group of US scientists called for all per- and poly-fluorinated substances (PFAS) to be treated as one single class of chemistry and said they should be avoided for non-essential uses due to their hazardous toxicological and eco-toxicological profile.”

11. Appendix E - OSHA Respirator Requirements for Selected Chemicals: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/nengapdxe.html A list of chemicals warned by CDC to be toxic and found in masks.

12. Twenty Reasons Mandatory Face Masks are Unsafe, Ineffective and Immoral: https://fromthetrenchesworldreport.com/twenty-reasons-mandatory-face-masks-are-unsafe-ineffective-and-immoral/280980

13. Dangers of Wearing Masks in Heat and Humidity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kjL_E1H0XA

14. Lockdowns Devastating For Child Development & Language Skills https://richieallen.co.uk/lockdowns-devastating-for-child-development-language-skills/

15. Stop Masks in Schools (crowdfunding) https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/stop-masks-in-schools/