What schools need to do during pandemic

News: School life during and after the Covid-19 pandemic is not going to be the same. The coming of a new sub-variant, Omicron, triggered concerns worldwide on what measures should adopt to protect children.

What is the exposure rate of adults and children?

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) study, both adult and child populations are almost equally exposed to the virus. The natural infection rates in adults and children are very similar, so staying at home cannot prevent children from getting exposed to the virus.

The data from both waves confirm that although infection rates are similar, symptomatic disease in children is much less and the incidence of severe disease requiring hospitalization and possibilities of death are also very rare. The infected children, therefore, may not show symptoms but become part of the chain of the spread of the virus in the community.

What safety measures should be adopted to protect children from getting exposed to virus?

Vaccination: All adults in homes and schools, including teachers and staff members, should receive a vaccination on priority, if not already immunized. The aim is to have children in a vaccine-protected adult environment.

Follow the advisories: Schools should work on

1) Administrative (attendance and entry rules) 2)  cohorting (keeping students and teachers in small groups that do not mix) 3) Having safety bubbles or capsules 4) staggering the breaks in schools.

Infrastructure: Schools should work on strengthening the infrastructure and resources like ventilation, water supply and toilets. Proper provisions of handwashing facilities should be there and schools should also have separate entry and exit points.

Safety measures: Proper precaution should be exercised when students will be on the playground or on school transportation. For children aged 12 years and above, Teachers and support staff should keep at least one-metre distance from each other. They should also wear masks and wash their hands regularly.

What are the World Health Organization recommendations?

-The Covid-related “stay-at-home when sick” policy should be promoted and effectively practised.

– WHO said that decision of opening or closing the school should be taken by the local administration, according to the data available or the situation there.

-Districts with no cases are advised to keep all schools open and implement Covid-19 prevention and control measures.

-Districts with cluster transmission can keep most schools open and consider closing schools in areas experiencing an expansion in clusters.

-Areas with community transmission should close schools, especially when there are increasing trends of Covid-19 cases that require hospitalization.

Source: This post is based on the article “What schools need to do during pandemic” published in the Indian Express on 8th December 2021.