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Violet Affleck, 19, who has a post-viral health condition, made an emotional plea from behind a large face mask and clear goggles.

She told the UN that the world has dropped masks far too quickly and warned Covid still presents a danger.

Ms Affleck said: “It is neglect of the highest order to look children in the eyes and say: ‘We knew how to protect you, and we didn’t do it.’

“For adults, the relentless beat of ‘back to normal’, ignoring, downplaying, and concealing both the prevalence of airborne transmission and the threat of Long Covid manifested in a series of choices.”

She added that “our present is being stolen right in front of our eyes”.

Violet insists that wearing face masks and other protective kit is vital to clean living, and appeared as part of the Healthy Indoor Air event.

She wrapped up by declaring that filtered air is a “human right” – and should be available as freely as filtered water.

“We can create clean air infrastructure that is so ubiquitous and so obviously necessary, tomorrow’s children don’t even know why we need it,” she said.

Violet, whose Hollywood parents divorced in 2015, has taken the stand on her mask plight before.

Last year, she addressed a city board meeting in Los Angeles to slam the city’s lack of mask regulations in hospitals.

In that speech, Ms Affleck opened up about her health issues after contracting a post-viral condition.

A clip from the meeting was shared on X, in which she says, while wearing a face mask, “Hi, Violet Affleck, Los Angeles resident, first-time voter. I’m 18. I contracted a post-viral condition in 2019.

“I’m OK now, but I saw first-hand that medicine does not always have answers to the consequences of even minor viruses.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has thrown that into sharper relief.”

A post-viral condition, also known as long Covid, occurs after a viral infection, per the Mayo Clinic.

Symptoms can include fatigue, lethargy, memory loss, inability to focus, and exhaustion, and can potentially go on for months.

This past May, the 19-year-old wrote an article in the Yale Global Health Review that on Los Angeles’ organised response to Covid-19.

She said eliminating the virus fully involves wearing masks, employers providing paid sick leave and universal healthcare to people.

Ms Affleck also urged people to stay organised and distribute masks free of charge to people who are in need of them.

This story originally appeared on The Sun and is republished here with permission.