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Preventing heat stroke is important, too, but without masks, more people will be deemed to have been in close contact with a COVID-19 patient, and that will lead to a school shutdown. Maintaining a balance is difficult.

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A representative of the education board of Tokyo’s Itabashi Ward. The death of an 11-year-old boy at a school in Osaka Prefecture has raised questions over whether children should wear anti-virus masks in physical education classes, and if students themselves can continue making that decision.

© Asahi Shimbun

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

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http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14365457

Schools and education boards are dumping the responsibility onto the children themselves.

"The woman said the school’s guidelines stated, “Children should wear a mask, in principle, at the athletic festival, but we will leave it up to the students whether to put on or take off their masks in competitions.”

The woman said about half of the children did not wear masks in a footrace, but the majority did for the dance.

“I was watching it with bated breath, worrying if a child would collapse,” she said. “It is a life-threatening matter, and I thought the school’s guidelines were irresponsible.”

Kojiro Ishii, a professor at Doshisha University’s Faculty of Health and Sports Science Department, said: “Do not leave the decision up to children. Adults should give the instructions.”

Why kids are dancing in groups during a pandemic, and why their parents are allowing this are another questions, but how are small children expected to know what's best for them?

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Just cancel the olympics?

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Here is a revolutionary concept, people are not supposed to be excluded as a close contact of a case just because they were wearing a mask.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

maybe finally installing air cons at schools would help.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Why pretend to care. Kids die every year due to heat exhaustion and sunstroke. Nothing is going to change. Stop the BS and actually do something. Hope the foreign media uncover this country for what it actually is during the COVID games.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

It's too hot for kids to exercise outdoors during the hottest weather. Switch to gym work, stay hydrated and turn up the air con. If covid is a concern, give the kids exercise routines as homework and they can do it solo in their home or back yard in the cooler evenings.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Every year this terrible tradgedy happens to a kid, or several kids, during the oppresive heat. It has no connection to masks. I see young kids sitting out in the school yard in the direct sun, sitting directly on the ground where its 5 - 7c hotter than the 'air' temperature. Japan has this serious case of 'only the strongest should survive' primative mentality, and apply it to the young kids too.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Building new schools ? For whom ?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The death of an 11-year-old boy at a school in Osaka Prefecture has raised questions over whether children should wear anti-virus masks in physical education classes, and if students themselves can continue making that decision.

Stupid idiotic coward.

WHO said no mask when intense physical effort. In this kind of heat, not much do not fall under it. Grow a pair and tell children to remove the mask and tell the parents they have the choice :

mask + no taking part + drink lot of water and stay in shade

no mask + taking part + drink lot of water and stay in shade

And better from now on, considering the current and future weather :

start having a urbanism politics to reduce heat naturally

move sport day to cooler time
0 ( +0 / -0 )

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