THE Covid-19 pandemic has pretty much been contained in China with half the country free from the deadly virus.
The public are still required to wear masks at most public places especially confined areas.
Classes have resumed with the reopening of primary and secondary schools, but it was not a good start for the education sector.
Several deaths were reported in schools after students, wearing face masks, collapsed and died during physical education (PE) classes.
One of them was a 15-year-old, identified only as Xiao Li, from Caiyuan Middle School in Zhoukou city of Henan province.
According to his father Li Jian, the teenager fell while running around the school field.
“I saw in the surveillance camera, my son was running around the field with his disposable mask during PE class and he fell after about three minutes.
“His cause of death is classified as sudden death,” Li Jian added.
The family suspected that the Form Three student died as a result of running with a mask on, as required by the school in the prevention and control of Covid-19.
They, however, refused for a post-mortem to be performed on the teenager.
The school management said they had reported the incident to the higher authorities.“It is very clear, it was sudden death, he fell down while running. No one could do anything.
“Many students witnessed it,” a school worker told thepaper.cn.He was the third victim reported in 15 days.
On April 14, a 16-year-old teenager from Wenzhou city of Zhejiang province died while running with his three-ply mask on.
On April 30, a 15-year-old student from Changsha city of Hunan province died while undergoing his one-kilometre physical test run at the school field. He was wearing an N95 mask.
All the victims were around this age as for secondary education, only Junior Year Three and Senior Year Three students have resumed classes in most provinces.
I have to admit I feel suffocated whenever I have to wear the mask. And I have to spray fragrance on the mask pack to make breathing a lot easier.
Health experts have suggested to parents not to allow their children to wear masks while playing as it could result in shortness of breath.
The students’ death drew a heated discussion on social media sites, with netizens seeking advice if they should wear a mask while exercising.
Some of them criticised the requirement of students having to wear face masks during PE sessions.
Health experts said there was no evidence to link their deaths to wearing face masks but they did not totally dismiss it.
The students’ deaths could be caused by other factors including underlying diseases such as cardio problems, they added.
Prof Sun Hongtao from Beijing Fuwai Hospital said the less breathable N95 mask was not suitable for the general public.
“The air exhaled would be trapped in the mask and be re-inhaled by the users.
“This can cause a drop in oxygen and an increase in carbon dioxide level,” he pointed out, adding that an N95 mask could only be worn for four hours at most.
He said the lack of oxygen could cause severe damage to a person’s brain and other organs while breathing obstruction could damage the lungs.
Dr Wang Yantong of Huaxi Hospital advised against children under seven years old wearing N95 masks.
Beijing Centre for Disease Control and Prevention deputy director Liu Xiaofeng said the public should not wear face masks but maintain social distancing while enjoying outdoor sports activities.
The tragedies have led China’s education departments to re-assess measures on the use of face masks in schools.
Most of them have asked for students and teachers not to wear masks during morning exercise, PE classes and sports activities.
Some places also allowed students to go mask-free during recess time, but with one condition, they must practise social distancing and stay at least 1m away from each other.
Certain areas have also extended the same guideline to those in physical labour jobs.
In Beijing, with the reopening of sports and gym centres on April 29, the public can start playing badminton, tennis or ping pong but they are advised to avoid close contact games like basketball and football.
The public are still required to wear masks at most public places especially confined areas.
Classes have resumed with the reopening of primary and secondary schools, but it was not a good start for the education sector.
Several deaths were reported in schools after students, wearing face masks, collapsed and died during physical education (PE) classes.
One of them was a 15-year-old, identified only as Xiao Li, from Caiyuan Middle School in Zhoukou city of Henan province.
According to his father Li Jian, the teenager fell while running around the school field.
“I saw in the surveillance camera, my son was running around the field with his disposable mask during PE class and he fell after about three minutes.
“His cause of death is classified as sudden death,” Li Jian added.
The family suspected that the Form Three student died as a result of running with a mask on, as required by the school in the prevention and control of Covid-19.
They, however, refused for a post-mortem to be performed on the teenager.
The school management said they had reported the incident to the higher authorities.“It is very clear, it was sudden death, he fell down while running. No one could do anything.
“Many students witnessed it,” a school worker told thepaper.cn.He was the third victim reported in 15 days.
On April 14, a 16-year-old teenager from Wenzhou city of Zhejiang province died while running with his three-ply mask on.
On April 30, a 15-year-old student from Changsha city of Hunan province died while undergoing his one-kilometre physical test run at the school field. He was wearing an N95 mask.
All the victims were around this age as for secondary education, only Junior Year Three and Senior Year Three students have resumed classes in most provinces.
I have to admit I feel suffocated whenever I have to wear the mask. And I have to spray fragrance on the mask pack to make breathing a lot easier.
Health experts have suggested to parents not to allow their children to wear masks while playing as it could result in shortness of breath.
The students’ death drew a heated discussion on social media sites, with netizens seeking advice if they should wear a mask while exercising.
Some of them criticised the requirement of students having to wear face masks during PE sessions.
Health experts said there was no evidence to link their deaths to wearing face masks but they did not totally dismiss it.
The students’ deaths could be caused by other factors including underlying diseases such as cardio problems, they added.
Prof Sun Hongtao from Beijing Fuwai Hospital said the less breathable N95 mask was not suitable for the general public.
“The air exhaled would be trapped in the mask and be re-inhaled by the users.
“This can cause a drop in oxygen and an increase in carbon dioxide level,” he pointed out, adding that an N95 mask could only be worn for four hours at most.
He said the lack of oxygen could cause severe damage to a person’s brain and other organs while breathing obstruction could damage the lungs.
Dr Wang Yantong of Huaxi Hospital advised against children under seven years old wearing N95 masks.
Beijing Centre for Disease Control and Prevention deputy director Liu Xiaofeng said the public should not wear face masks but maintain social distancing while enjoying outdoor sports activities.
The tragedies have led China’s education departments to re-assess measures on the use of face masks in schools.
Most of them have asked for students and teachers not to wear masks during morning exercise, PE classes and sports activities.
Some places also allowed students to go mask-free during recess time, but with one condition, they must practise social distancing and stay at least 1m away from each other.
Certain areas have also extended the same guideline to those in physical labour jobs.
In Beijing, with the reopening of sports and gym centres on April 29, the public can start playing badminton, tennis or ping pong but they are advised to avoid close contact games like basketball and football.
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