Covid: Call for face masks to be compulsory in Isle of Man schools

The wearing of face masks in schools is now expected but is not legally required

Increased Covid-19 mitigation measure should be "urgently" reintroduced in Isle of Man schools, a teaching union has said.

The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) want face coverings to become mandatory in "all school areas".

Older pupils and staff are now expected but not legally required to wear masks.

The government previously said it still supported the "hands, face, space and fresh air" message in schools.

However, the union said those rules should go further and has called for whole-school assemblies and face-to-face meetings with parents to be scrapped, and all "non-essential activities" to be cancelled.

Government figures have shown an upsurge in cases among children of school age in recent weeks.

Earlier this week, Castle Rushen High School cancelled some face-to-face lessons for older pupils as a result of staff shortages due to Covid-19.

NASUWT general secretary, Patrick Roach, said the island's schools had "some of the lowest levels of Covid safety mitigations" in the British Isles and face masks were "seldom worn by pupils in communal areas".

Introducing stricter rules would "help in the fight to avoid a bad situation becoming worse in the run up to Christmas" and avoid "further damaging disruption to pupils' education", he added.