A Cape Town school has brought back the use of face masks for young students in order to protect them from the rising number of cases of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).
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Parents of students at Heideveld Primary School were urged to make sure their children are wearing face masks at school in a letter that was distributed to parents this week. The letter expressed concerns about the spread of RSV and flu viruses.
The letter, released on Thursday and circulated across social media, requested parents to make sure that students displaying flu-like symptoms wear face masks as a preventive measure in an effort to stop the spread.
The National Department of Health reported earlier this month that Covid-19 was still at low levels and that RSV was at its peak nationwide, along with an increase in influenza virus infections.
The human RSV is a common cause of lower respiratory tract infections worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
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The Western Cape Education Department’s (WCED) spokesperson, Kerry Mauchline, stated that the school’s management took preventative measures rather than following departmental instructions when it came to the reinstatement of face masks.
‘The school has advised that they took the initiative to recommend that children with flu symptoms wear a mask as a precautionary measure, because exams are coming up and they don’t want learners to get sick and miss exams. No learner will be sent home for not wearing a mask.’
The Western Cape Health Department announced last week that RSV was the cause of 50% of all pneumonia cases in children admitted to Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital during the previous three weeks.
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Patricia van der Ross, a Mayco member for health, has confirmed that the number of young children presenting at City clinics with these symptoms has increased.
‘We have seen an increase and its affecting mostly toddlers between the ages of two and five years old. We have not been informed of any other schools in the metro asking children to wear masks.’
‘The flu that is going around now has seen many children and adults fall ill so we ask parents to be extra vigilant and take precautionary steps.’
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