The new coronary pneumonia epidemic has been declared a public health emergency. International customs (PHEIC) and viruses have spread to many countries and regions. Although many of the viruses that cause COVID-19 are still unknown, do we know that it is spread directly? Individuals who come into contact with respiratory droplets of infected persons (caused by coughing and sneezing) can also infect their faces (eg, eyes, nose, mouth) by touching surfaces contaminated with the virus and touching their skin. While COVID-19 continues to spread, it is important for the community to take action. Take action to prevent further spread, reduce the impact of the epidemic and support control measures.

The protection of children and educational facilities is particularly important. Precautions are to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19 in schools; however, care must also be taken to avoid stigmatizing students and staff who may have been exposed to the virus. It is important to remember this, COVID-19 does not know national boundaries, race, disability, age or gender. The educational environment should continue to be an environment that welcomes, respects, embraces and supports all people. The measures taken by the school can prevent students and staff from entering and spreading COVID-19 has been exposed to the virus, while minimizing interference and protecting students and staff from infection and discrimination.

Purpose

Today, children and young people are global citizens, powerful agents of change and the next generation of caregivers, scientists and doctors. Any crisis provides opportunities to help them learn and cultivate while building a safer and more caring community, while increasing compassion and resilience. Information and facts about COVID-19 will help reduce students ’fear and anxiety about the disease and support their ability to cope with any secondary impacts in life.

This guide provides key Communicate messages and precautions with school administrators, teachers and staff, parents, caregivers and community members, as well as children themselves in schools that promote safety and health.

The purpose of this document is to provide clear and actionable guidance for safe operation on prevention and early detection and control of COVID-19 in schools and other educational institutions. Although the guidelines only apply to countries that have confirmed the spread of COVID-19, they still apply to all other situations. Education can encourage students to become advocates of disease prevention and control at home, at school, in their communities, by talking to others about how to prevent the spread of the virus. Maintaining the safe operation of the school or reopening after the school is closed requires a lot of consideration, but if done well, it can promote public health.

Basic principles

Following basic principles can help keep students, teachers, and staff safe at school and help stop the spread of this disease. Recommendations for healthy schools are:

• Sick students, teachers and other staff should not come to school
• Schools should enforce regular hand washing with safe water and soap, alcohol rub/hand sanitizer or chlorine solution and, at a minimum, daily disinfection and cleaning of school surfaces
• Schools should provide water, sanitation and waste management facilities and follow environmental cleaning and decontamination procedures
• Schools should promote social distancing (a term applied to certain actions that are taken to slow down the spread of a highly contagious disease, including limiting large groups of people coming together)

To stay healthy, teachers and administrators should:

Ask sick students and staff to stay home (and to seek medical attention when necesssary).

Keep a supply of alcohol-based hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes.

Teach good hand washing practices.

Clean and disinfect classroom materials and surfaces.

Provide reminders in daily announcements about preventing the spread of germs and illnesses.

Adopt healthy practices, such as safe handling of food and the use of standard precautions when handling body fluids and excretions.

Encourage students and staff to get an annual flu shot.

To stay healthy, parents should:

• Keep your children home, if they are sick.
• Send your child in with tissues and wipes for the classroom.
• Teach your children to wash their hands.