Starting at age 12, children should wear face masks wherever adults wear them, such as in crowded settings, as a tool against Covid-19, the UN health and children’s agencies say in a guidance document for decision makers.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) did not generally recommend children between ages 6 and 11 wear masks, but that they should be considered in areas with intense virus transmission or in special settings such as schools.
Younger children should not be made to wear masks, mainly because they cannot put them on and off correctly by themselves, according to the document that was published Friday evening.
The expert group said children up to 5 years old would need to be under constant supervision if they did wear masks.
