The World Health Organization WHO has recommended that children over 12 years old now use masks in the same situations as adults as the use of face coverings helps stop the virus spread.
The health agency made the recommendation in a COVID- 19 guidance document it published on its website on Friday.
It said children aged five years and under should not be required to wear masks, while children aged 6-11 should only wear masks under certain conditions, including the presence of widespread transmission in the area where the child resides.
However, children aged 12 and over are required to wear masks under the same conditions as adults, “in particular when they cannot guarantee at least 1 meter distance from others and there is widespread transmission in the area.”
The WHO has said that the world should be able to rein in the coronavirus pandemic in less than two years even as the world’s death toll hit 800,000 and the number of confirmed cases continue to rise.
