The ombudswoman for children’s rights Maia Bănărescu said online learning that is justified by a legitimate goal and is applied non-discriminatorily in the case of all the social categories of the population is a reasonable protection measure of the state in an exceptional situation, IPN reports, quoting a press release of the Ombudsman’s Office.
Maia Bănărescu presented her opinion to the National Extraordinary Public Health Commission, saying the emergency measures should be in line with the supreme interest of the child. The ombudswoman asked that the national public budget for this year should include financial resources for supporting families with children affected by COVID-19, and to ensure the sanitary conditions in schools and the remuneration of the children’s rights specialist of the local public administration.
As regards the authorities’ decision about the wearing of masks, primarily by children, due to the pandemic, the ombudswoman said the authorities should take into account a series of factors, including the psychological needs of the child and the development stages. The WHO and UNICEF recommend that children aged five years and under should not be required to wear masks, while in the case of children aged between six and 11 this should depend on the intensity of the transmission of the virus.
Maia Bănărescu noted the protective face mask is indicated when it is worn correctly, except for cases when there are medical contraindications. She is yet skeptical about the arguments according to which the permanent wearing of masks does not have negative consequences for the psycho-emotional state of the child as these are not based on studies of the impact of wearing of masks by children, especially those aged between six and 11.
The National Extraordinary Public Health Commission on March 19 decided that the managers of education institutions and the mayors of localities will decide by themselves the method of education in kindergartens and schools after the idea of halting the education process wasn’t supported in the meeting.
