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Paternal sci craves masks indefinitely, despite emotion recognition harm to children

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Are Face Masks Forever?
https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/are-co...ks-forever

INTRO: Face masks became part of our “new normal” this past year. They became such a part of our culture that companies began offering them in various shapes and sizes, and even in fun, fashionable patterns for both kids and adults. But as more people get vaccinated—and it seems like life could eventually go back to normal—one question remains: Is it really time to get rid of our masks?

Some experts say not so fast.

“I wouldn’t throw masks away just yet,” says Carlos Oliveira, MD, PhD, a Yale Medicine infectious diseases specialist. “There could be spikes in [coronavirus] transmission for a variety of reasons. And there is still a lot we don’t know, especially as the new variants continue to emerge and enter the U.S. It’s still unclear whether these variants will cause more breakthrough infections.” (In this case, "breakthrough" refers to COVID-19 infections occurring in people who are vaccinated against the disease.)

Sheela Shenoi, MD, MPH, a Yale Medicine infectious diseases specialist, adds that even as COVID-19 cases are declining in the U.S., rates of infections and deaths are still high in other parts of the world. “I hesitate to say that we are approaching a post-COVID world when so many are still being ravaged by this virus,” she says. “If there is anything we should have learned in the past 16 months, it is that we are all interconnected; what happens in one part of the world affects everybody.”

Even if COVID-19 numbers start to plummet everywhere, doctors say it might be a good idea to consider wearing the masks that offered protection from SARS-CoV-2 to reduce transmission of other viruses, like seasonal flu and the common cold. Masks can also be used as a barrier against the pollen that causes those miserable seasonal allergies... (MORE)


Children cannot understand sadness and happiness in people wearing facemask
https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/are-co...ks-forever

RELEASE: The U-Vip (Unit for Visually Impaired People) research team led by Monica Gori at the IIT- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (Italian Institute of Technology) has recently published a study which shows for the first time how children aged from 3 to 5 years old have problems in recognising the emotions of people wearing surgical masks. This collateral effect of the preventive measures linked to the Covid-19 health emergency could influence the correct development of children's capabilities of social interaction. The research paper has been published in Frontiers in Psychology.

The use of facemasks for children within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic was a focus of a document compiled by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF to provide guidance for decision-makers and authorities in public and professional fields, discouraging exposure to the use of facemasks when dealing with children aged up to five years old. In addition, even for older children, WHO recommends giving careful consideration to the benefits of wearing facemasks in comparison with the potential damage that could include social and psychological problems, and difficulties in communication and learning.

The study by the IIT research team led by Monica Gori regards this context, and, for the first time it focuses on pre-school age group and it helps define the measures that can be taken to reduce the impact of the use of surgical masks amongst children. In fact, even though from 3 to 5 years of age, wearing facemasks is not mandatory, children are in any case exposed to the use of such preventive measures in various everyday social and educational contexts.

The IIT researchers prepared a quiz containing images of people with and without facemasks, and displayed them by computer, tablet or smartphone to 119 individuals comprising 31 children aged between 3 and 5 years old, 49 children between 6 and 8 years old, and 39 adults between 18 and 30 years old. The subjects, independently or with parental assistance in the case of the youngest participants, were asked to try to recognise the faces' expressions, with and without facemask, conveying different emotions such as happiness, sadness, fear and anger.

The results showed that children aged between 3 and 5 years old are capable of recognising facial expressions conveying happiness and sadness on only 40% of occasions when the faces are covered by a facemask. The percentages were higher for other age groups: children aged from 6 to 8 years old (55-65%) and adults (70-80%) but in general, all age groups showed a degree of difficulty in interpreting these emotions expressed while the face was partially covered by a facemask. As regards the other emotions, there were better results, but we can say that the age group that finds it hardest to recognise emotions expressed from behind a facemask is that of children in pre-school age.

"The experiment was performed in the earliest phases of the 2020 pandemic, and at that time facemasks were still a new experience for everyone.", comments Monica Gori, "Children's brains are highly flexible, and at the moment we are performing tests to ascertain whether children's understanding of emotions has increased or not", concludes Gori.

"In the study, we worked with children and adults with no forms of disability", explains Maria Bianca Amadeo, IIT researcher and co-author of the research study, "of course, these observations are even more important when considering children affected by disabilities". "Indeed", explains Lucia Schiatti, IIT researcher and co-author of the study "for example visual impairment implies difficulties in social interaction. For such individuals in particular, it will be even more necessary to concentrate on possible preventive measures or specific rehabilitation activities".

Over the next few years, it will be essential to perform work designed to explore the actual impact of this preventive health measure on children's ability to interact, both those affected by disabilities and those without disabilities. In the meantime, the IIT study suggests considering the use of transparent facemasks for all operators in contact with children in the 3-5 year-old age group, or the formulation of specific training activities designed to teach children how to recognise emotions purely through observation of the eyes.
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