A government panel on Friday recommended that children wear face masks at day care to prevent the rapid spread of the highly transmissible omicron coronavirus variant but stopped short of suggesting a specific age due to concerns over health risks.
As omicron continues to spread rapidly in the country, particularly among children, the panel laid out proposals to prevent children and day care staff from getting infected. Protecting elderly people, who are also being hit hard by COVID-19, was also urgently sought by the panel.
An initial plan that sought to have children age 2 or older wear face masks fell through due to objections among panel members. Shigeru Omi, the government's top COVID-19 adviser, said after their meeting that while children at day cares are advised to wear face masks, the panel has decided not to specify an age.