As schools gear up to reopen, there is obvious anxiety among parents about the safety of their children and also what to expect in this covid-19 era. It is important to note that the virus is still with us and as we go into winter, the risk of transmission and infection will increase – thus, the lockdown was not a strategy to end Covid-19, but rather to prepare for it.
Further, while few can claim to be experts on this disease, we can use what we know about infectious disease to dispense good advice to parents, learners and teachers. Here we outline some good evidence-based advice which is worth noting.There is an assumption that everyone knows how to wash hands, wear masks and maintain physical distance. However, this is not the case.
What we suggest is for children to have outerwear of some sort e.g. overcoat or raincoat or gown. This they will remove and hang outside on arrival at school. Then at the end of the school day, they can wear it on their way home, making sure that they leave it outside upon arrival at home. To reduce overcrowding, arranging classes so that they attend on alternative days from Monday to Saturday would be a useful strategy. It would avoid children having classes late into the day but also reduce exposure for both learners and teachers as well as high investment in PPE kits. Teaching outside
It was recently found in South Korea that non-digital record-keeping is not reliable when it comes to contact tracing. In addition, it is highly inefficient and also potentially exposes frontline staff to infection as they have to spend more time noting down details of each child and visitor.