WHO and CDC Says People Should Not Wear Masks While Exercising, Local School District Disagrees

It’s the middle of August and normally I would be shopping for back-to-school clothes and supplies. Instead I am trying to decide whether or not to send my children to school. After tonight’s virtual meeting with the Brighton School District, I’m leaning towards the 100% remote option.

For the past two weeks I have been submitting the same question to the Brighton Central School District: “Will my child who has asthma, be required to wear a mask during gym”? I submitted a private Facebook message, sent emails and submitted an inquiry on the Thought Exchange platform.

On Wednesday night I left a comment during the district’s live town hall and the question was finally answered during the last 10 minutes of the meeting. Interesting enough, they never answered me, rather a school nurse who raised concerns for asthmatic students who she has seen come into her office for a puff on the rescue inhaler during PE class.

 

Either way the answer was given. The Superintendent said yes, masks are now a part of student conduct and must be properly worn at all times, even during gym.

The only exception is for students that have a note from a doctor stating that the child cannot tolerate wearing a face covering for medical reasons that will be based on certain criteria. Hee said those exemptions, however, will be “few and far between”.

Personally I believe that asthma is a perfectly logical medical reason to not restrict oxygen intake during cardio and other physical activities. So I will be consulting with our doctor on that.

I have also heard of Chinese students who died wearing a mask in gym class.

In addition to the breathing problem, wearing a mask while exercising can actually bring germs into the mask!

The following statement and video comes from the World Health Organization website:

FACT: People should NOT wear masks while exercising 

People should NOT wear masks when exercising, as masks may reduce the ability to breathe comfortably.

Sweat can make the mask become wet more quickly which makes it difficult to breathe and promotes the growth of microorganisms. The important preventive measure during exercise is to maintain physical distance of at least one meter from others.

 

The following 3 statements come directly from the CDC website: 

DC recognizes that wearing masks may not be possible in every situation or for some people. In some situations, wearing a mask may exacerbate a physical or mental health condition, lead to a medical emergency, or introduce significant safety concerns. 

• People should not wear masks while engaged in activities that may cause the mask to become wet, like when swimming at the beach or pool. A wet mask may make it difficult to breathe. For activities like swimming, it is particularly important to maintain physical distance from others when in the water.
• People who are engaged in high intensity activities, like running, may not be able to wear a mask if it causes difficulty breathing. If unable to wear a mask, consider conducting the activity in a location with greater ventilation and air exchange (for instance, outdoors versus indoors) and where it is possible to maintain physical distance from others.

 

I have also asked the school district about having class outside during the warm months and they said “we’ll have to look into that”.

So between the general risk of catching Covid19 and the lack of consideration for my child’s lack of access to proper oxygen intake during PE class, we might have to turn into a full-time home schooling family.