Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Other / Unknown
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General None Reported / Taken
Environment - Non Weather Related; Company Policy; Human Factors; Procedure
During recurrent ground school; multiple pilots in the class had disregarded the updated company policy to wear protective face masks while on duty. Our instructor had stated that they were required; but about 40% of pilots had left their company-supplied masks on the desk rather than wear them. Even during the Chief Pilot's presentation; he had removed his at times in order to facilitate wearing his eyeglasses.Since the goal is to stop the spread of COVID-19 while possibly being asymptomatic; it is vital to keep the mask on at all times unless you need to ingest water or food. On the second day of class; we were told one pilot; who did a fairly good job of keeping his mask on during the day; had symptoms similar to COVID-19 overnight. This is exactly why everyone should have their masks on while on duty.Make sure everyone is following company policy. The three pilots sitting behind me did not put their masks on at all during our first day of ground school; which I found to be irritating and a safety risk to everyone else in class and in the building.
Air carrier Captain reported that during recurring ground training individuals did not always wear a mask to protect from COVID-19 exposure.