獨／英國學校戴口罩規定不同調！台家長表示：只是想保護孩子

【看CP學英文】英國新冠肺炎疫情嚴峻，在每日病例數不斷增加下，英國近期頒布各項社交限制措施，包括全國禁止6人以上聚會。近日，一名居住在英國的台灣媽媽表示，學校戴口罩規定不一致，讓學生無所適從，也讓家長擔心小孩在學校恐面臨感染風險。

The United Kingdom, which is facing a third wave of coronavirus cases, has recently imposed social restrictions, including a ban on both indoor and outdoor gatherings of more than six people.

Against this backdrop, Maggie and Enrico L., a mixed couple from Taiwan and Italy living near Windsor with their two children, have pointed to inconsistencies regarding the local school’s rules for face masks, stressing that authorities have left students confused and parents worried about the risk of infection.

台灣家長Maggie表示，目前大女兒就讀英國溫莎一間中學，中學規定建議學生在教室內不需要戴口罩，在走廊則必須配戴。然而，自9月英國全面開學至今，Maggie的女兒是班上少數會整天佩戴口罩的學生，因此引來校長特別關心。

Speaking to The China Post, Maggie explained that her older daughter, Victoria, who attends middle school, was advised to wear a face mask in public spaces only, meaning that she could refrain from wearing any protective gear in the classroom.

The 15-year-old student, who remarked that she has been one of the few pupils in her class to wear a face mask all day since school started in September, was surprised to hear that the school’s principal was particularly concerned about her.

Maggie告訴The China Post，老師希望身為家長的他能為女兒寫一封證明書(note)，要學生上學時隨身攜帶此證明，若有老師詢問要求其脫下口罩，可馬上提出家長聲明。

Contrary to all expectations, Maggie explained that the teacher wanted her and her husband to write a letter to the school confirming the fact that Victoria was wearing a face mask of her own free will.

The parental statement was reportedly needed if a teacher asked the reason why she was wearing a face mask during the lesson, Maggie said.

隨後，Maggie先生回信給學校，內容除了同意女兒在學校整天配戴口罩保護自己以及他人之外，也強調學校應鼓勵學生戴口罩，以共同對抗疫情。

Accordingly, Enrico wrote to the school stressing that his daughter would wear a mask at school to protect herself and others whenever she would feel the need and recommended that the school encourage other students to follow suit to fight off the pandemic.

Maggie的英國老公分享道，在英國戴口罩的人數有增加，雖然有些人戴著口罩卻沒有覆蓋口鼻，或是講話時特別脫下口罩深怕對方聽不清楚。

“An increasing number of people wear face masks in public spaces, even though most people wear them with their nose out,” Enrico said, adding that “some people also pull off their face mask to speak to others because they are afraid that they won’t understand them.”

他續談道，「這是文化差異，在這裡如果你戴著口罩，表示你生病了應該待在家。」

“It is a different culture,” he continued. “If you are wearing a face mask here it means that you are sick and you should stay at home,” he remarked. “That’s the reason why most people don’t wear face masks (in the UK).”

另一方面，Maggie表示，目前同樣就讀中學的小女兒學校防疫措施嚴格許多，包括依據姓氏劃分進入校門及放學的時間、以班為單位的社交泡泡、午餐線上訂購、課桌椅消毒等等。

On the other hand, Maggie said that her second daughter’s middle school is much more demanding regarding virus prevention. The school has implemented various measures to limit contacts between various age groups by arranging arrival and departure times by surname, and year of study, as well as allowing pupils to order lunch online, she said.

根據一間英國學校發給家長的疫情相關政策指引，內容提到，英國政府建議全國托兒所、托育機構、中小學、大專院校等學生孩童不須配戴口罩，因為上述機構皆已實施防疫措施，有效降低染疫風險。

According to a policy guideline issued to parents by the UK government, however, school authorities are not recommending face coverings in nurseries, childminders, schools, colleges because these institutions already have preventive measures in place to reduce the health risks.

根據美國約翰霍普金斯大學統計，目前累積確診人數725,292，死亡人數達43,736人，即使疫情仍持續惡化，部分英國學校仍認為配戴口罩非必要措施。

According to the Johns Hopkins University, the number of confirmed cases in the UK totals 725,292 people with 43,736 deaths. Some schools, however, do not consider wearing face masks a necessary measure, even as the pandemic continues to worsen.

除了Maggie媽媽之外，有位家長在臉書社團「倫敦的台灣媽媽」分享道，自己的女兒被禁止在學校戴口罩，校長回覆表示，若家長執意讓小孩在學校戴口罩，那請「帶著小孩離開學校」。

In addition to Maggie, a parent shared on a Facebook page “Taiwanese Moms in London” a similar story about her daughter, who has been banned from wearing a mask at school.

The principal allegedly said that if parents insisted on allowing their child to wear a mask during the lesson, they would have to “take their kids out of school.”

同樣地，一名網友表示，有亞洲家長讓小孩佩戴口罩上學，卻接到學校來電要家長請小孩把口罩拿下，三天後自己的小孩出現感冒症狀，令家長十分擔憂。

Similarly, another Asian parent reportedly asked her child to wear a face mask but received a call from the school asking the parent to tell the child to take it away. Three days later, her child developed flu symptoms which made the parent even very worried.

「我們沒出國，不代表別人沒出國，要是無症狀傳染，不戴口罩又趴趴走，防疫又更困難了。英國應該沒考慮到無症狀感染者。」

“If we don’t go abroad, it doesn’t mean that others don’t go abroad,” a social media user wrote in the chat group. “If you are asymptomatic and you are walking around without a mask, it makes it harder to prevent the disease. I don’t think the UK has taken into account the asymptomatic people.”

另外，有網友說道，小孩的學校也規定不能戴口罩，但是第一天送小孩去學校發現老師都有戴上口罩，引發其他家長熱烈討論質疑學校政策。

Another remarked that her child’s school has the same policy regarding face maks.

Yet, she found out that teachers were all wearing masks on the first day of school, which led to a heated discussion among other parents regarding the school policy.

一名網友表示，政府並未強制學生戴口罩，只是建議小學生不需要戴口罩。他續道，每個學校針對是否戴口罩的政策不同，但以學校立場是鼓勵小朋友戴口罩上學，儘管一班也只有一兩位小朋友有戴口罩。

A contributor also wrote that the government had not made it mandatory for students to wear face masks, but only suggested that primary school students did not need to wear masks.

She continued: “Each school has a different policy on whether or not to wear masks, but the school’s position is to encourage children to wear masks to school, even though only one or two children in a class wear masks.”