Facemasks and three-week isolation return due to 'very serious' outbreak

The return of facemasks and three-week isolation for infected schoolkids is possible amid a whooping cough outbreak across the UK. GPs and doctors in the NHS have warned mums and dads to wear masks while infected schoolkids isolate at home amid the outbreak.

Cases of the super-infectious '100-day cough' surged in the first three months of this year, reaching 2,793 confirmed infections. Parkside Family Practice in Reading, Berkshire, is asking patients to don face masks, writing on its website: “For infection control purposes, please do wear a face mask when coming to our surgery."

The Parkview Surgery in Uxbridge, Middlesex, also told patients: “If you have a face to face appointment, the doctors ask that you wear a face mask to your appointment.” The West Hampstead Medical Centre in London emailed patients to warn them of “a local upsurge in measles and whooping cough”, according to The Telegraph.

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The surgery asked anyone with symptoms to book a phone call appointment but be “available to attend in person within 30 minutes” and urged patients to "notify the reception you have arrived but wait outside to be called in when your appointment starts”.

Tory MP David Davis criticised the advice as overly-cautious, telling Mail Online it was "vitally important to maintain the continuity of education". "The obvious response would be to put them on antibiotics and return them to school as quickly as possible," he claimed.

"Being away from school for weeks on end can put children behind in critical areas of their study, and they may not recover. Plainly, the right approach is to is to use medical procedures to accelerate their return, not to take an overcautious delay which could do real damage to their education."

The NHS states: "Whooping cough (pertussis) is a bacterial infection of the lungs and breathing tubes. It spreads very easily and can sometimes cause serious problems. It's important for babies and children to get vaccinated against it."