Pupils want end to Covid ban on lunchtime chatter

Most children long for a return to the days when they could chat to their classmates over lunch – a pleasure they have been denied during the coronavirus pandemic.

After well over two years of eating in near silence to prevent the spread of the airborne virus, schoolchildren say they want their classrooms to reverberate to more than the sound of cutlery and crockery at lunchtime.

While two other Covid measures – a ban on foreign tourists and restrictions on eating out – have been lifted, many schoolchildren are still required to stay quiet when they eat. A recent survey found that 90% said they wanted the ban on chatting to end.

“Many children wonder why silent lunches continue unchanged, even though adults can go drink at bars and talk during lunch,” Maho Ono, a mother who conducted the survey, told the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper. “No adult has offered a convincing explanation.”

According to the online survey of almost 1,600 children, conducted in May and July, 79% said they thought silent eating was “bad”.