Covid Safety Precautions for Children when School College Reopen - Gigadocs - Online Appointment with Best Doctors

Schools and Colleges are not just learning institutions, they are a crucial support system for students to aid in their mental wellbeing and physical growth.

However, Covid changed all of that, this pandemic forced schools and colleges to shut down and children to continue their studies from home, with no outdoor activities or bonding with friends. Multiple studies have shown this unprecedented closure was detrimental to a child’s health, many children reported a lack of confidence and a decline in their social communication skills.

As the Corona vaccination is underway, education experts debate and contemplate on school and college reopening. Over time, school reopening will call for safety precautions to be taken, both inside and outside the classroom to prevent any surface-to-surface contamination and further spread of COVID-19.

The importance of teachers in the continuity of learning cannot be side-lined. Thus, when the schools and colleges reopen, a lot of responsibility will be on the teachers. They would ensure a safe and healthy environment for the children and make up for the lost study time during the lockdown.

Back to School and Risks to Public Health

The most critical question parents fear that whether school reopening will lead to a resurgence of Covid infection among students, staff, and the supportive community. Emerging evidence suggests that even if the children contract Covid-19, they would be asymptomatic, less likely to be hospitalized, and develop any serious complications.

Though children’s role in transmitting the novel coronavirus is still unclear, it cannot be denied that school and college reopening will bring the older and immune-compromised teachers at a greater risk. However, when the school will reopen, it will be the teacher’s duty to educate the children about the importance of facemasks, social distancing, and handwashing to keep the Covid-19 infectivity under check.

Safe Class Room Measures

The first step in establishing a safe study environment would be to understand the complications around COVID-19. For instance, the rate of transmission and how we can protect ourselves and others. Students must be taught to maintain a safe distance between everyone present at the school.

As parents, here is what you must check before you decide to send your kids to school:

Whether the school has increased desk spacing and introduced limited mixing of classes for school and after-school activities. For example, students would remain in the class during lunch breaks, and teachers and students use separate entrances for movement.
Whether the school plans to open the classes in a staggering proportion to avoid having all the students and teachers together.
If the school is considering increasing the number of teachers, and classrooms to make way for fewer students per classroom.
Parents should avoid overcrowding during school pick-up or drop. They must restrict pick up by an old family member (i.e., grandparents) due to their high infection risk and weakened immune systems.
Schools can consider different pickup/drop off times according to the age group of the students. The aim is to decrease any large gatherings of children at a given time.
Schools must encourage their students’ healthy social practices, who should always cough and/or sneeze into their elbow. However, if by accident they do so in/on their hands, teachers must instruct them to immediately wash their hands or apply a hand sanitizer. Students must be taught to sneeze or cough into a tissue and ensure that it is disposed of immediately and they wash/sanitize their hands.
The school authorities and teachers must keep an eye on the students to them avoid touching their eyes, nose, and mouth. Germs can transfer from those areas on the mask that the children wear.
The school practices daily cleaning and surface disinfecting of frequently touched surfaces, such as doorknobs, computer keyboards, desks, countertops, taps, phones, and toys.
Provides the sick student with a medical mask if available and considers temperature screening of the students on a regular bias. The school must record the medical history of the students for fever in the previous 24 hours.

Paediatric Healthcare with Gigadocs

The reopening of schools and colleges will open up new healthcare challenges for children and elderly teachers. As parents, you should be extra vigilant and consult a pediatrician on the Gigadocs app if you notice any rash, recurring fever, acute gastrointestinal problems in your children, which could be an indication, that the kids are experiencing multisystem inflammatory syndrome and need urgent medical attention.

As a parent track, your child’s immunization alerts on the Vaccination Schedule Chart from Gigadocs. The vaccination schedule chart gives you the complete timesheet when your child needs to be vaccinated with your child’s date of birth.

When your child restarts their school after the Covid- 19 lockdown, their risk of contracting the pandemic, and other seasonal infections may increase manifold. Consult a digital Paediatric doctor for your child and monitor their health on the Gigadocs practice management app.

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