All schoolchildren should keep their masks on while they are in school and it is the duty of the parents to train them now to keep their masks on.

It is the duty of all teachers to monitor constantly whether children keep their masks on. The children can take the mask off and breathe for a while only when they are outside the buildings and not close to another child/children, the Deputy Director General (Public Health) Dr. Susie Perera said.

She told a press briefing at the Health Promotion Bureau in Colombo recently that the parents should train their children now to keep the mask for a few hours.

One child should have at least five masks to use during the week.

The child should be given a separate small pouch to keep the mask when it is taken off from the face. They should be educated on not to play with it. Dr. Perera said that all teachers need to wear their masks during school hours. Holding exams is not a problem at all and it is very safe because exams are conducted in a strictly controlled environment.

Schoolchildren cannot keep away from schools forever and schools need to be opened. The only way of doing this safely is by getting used to the `New Normalcy’ and getting trained to live under the `New Normalcy’ before reopening schools.

Dr. Perera said that every citizen should be very much aware of his / her private space and respond instantly when someone violates his/her private space and comes closer exceeding the safe distance. This is the only way of preventing Covid-19. It is very important to keep all doors and windows open in public transport because people cannot keep them safe distance (more than one metre) from each other while travelling in public transport.