As #Unmaskthekids Goes Viral, Maltese Parents Plead With Authorities To Free Their Children
Parents across Malta are sharing an image urging the island’s authorities to free their children from mask-wearing – especially as crowds are gathering daily for political rallies.
#Unmaskthekids is the hashtag accompanying a photo of a child’s face covered in a mask being shared widely across Maltese media.
It comes as schoolchildren need to wear a mask for long hours during their school day, with some parents saying their child is being forced to wear a mask for over six hours in a single sitting.
“The issue is that all measures are being relieved except those for school children, and parents are obviously expressing their frustration on behalf of kids who have no voice,” one parent told Lovin Malta.
Recently, Malta’s authorities began relaxing a number of COVID-19 mitigation measures, including the removal of needing vaccine certificates to enter several establishments and the removal of masks from public spaces.
Yet, school measures remain unchanged, with children only allowed to remove their mask while eating or during physical exercise – and parents were left “very frustrated seeing those mass meetings of both sides happening with no masks”.
“My kids – aged seven and nine – put their mask on at 7am on the van, and do not remove it before 1.30pm, and sometimes even later if they have extra-curricular activities,” another parent told Lovin Malta.
“They have not been able to see their friends smile or laugh in almost two years of school… Just because they don’t have a vote doesn’t mean they don’t matter.”
Parents hope for their children to be allowed to, at the very least, remove their masks while sitting at their desks, which are two metres apart anyway.
A Maltese youth clothing brand – Gaia and Nina – even shared a powerful post, showing children without a mask, images that parents want to see more of in 2022.
Now that restrictions are being lifted all over the world, including here in our island of Malta, no restrictions for kids wearing masks at school have been lifted here in Malta. Our kids’ mental health and well-being should be given the importance it deserves. Do not keep mask wearing mandatory all day at school. I want to see my kids and your kids mask-free again,” the brand said.
Lovin Malta today asked Prime Minister Robert Abela for the logic behind forcing children to wear masks throughout the school day while allowing political party supporters to gather in their droves at rallies, with several standing up in breach of event rules.
However, Abela dodged the question, insisting that the PL “always organises seated events” and reiterating his appeal for “responsibility”.
“The principle of proportionality and responsibility helped guide us through the toughest moments of the pandemic and will guide us towards full normality,” he said.
Do you think more mask-wearing measures should be removed?
READ NEXT: 46-Year-Old Woman Dies While COVID-19 Positive As 90 New Cases Found In Malta
