Rising COVID-19 cases in India: How schools can sanitize?

The entire world today is greatly affected by the ongoing pandemic but the biggest discomfort of it is to the education industry. Schools, colleges, universities, and institutions all over the world had to shut down to keep the children safe. India as a whole has witnessed multiple phases of intense transmission. This has resulted in a halt for the students as colleges and schools are operating at the bare minimum quantity allowance of students. The current need of the hour is to understand the seriousness of the situation and take up necessary measures to ensure a reduction in COVID-19 cases in India, without hampering the education of students.

 

Covid-19: Impact on Schools and Steps Taken for Sanitisation

 

Recently, schools have finally come up with a strategic plan to ensure the highest safety and complete sanitization of the school property with the following steps. Complete adherence to these steps can greatly protect and facilitate the well-being of students, teachers, other faculty members as well as the community as a whole.

 

Step 1: Professional Cleaning and Sanitisation

 

The very first step for Schools to follow is higher professional help to sanitize and clean the entire school premises before reopening it for students. The main reason here is not to reduce the risk of COVID-19 alone, but it is essential to get full sanitization done at least once to welcome the students with open and safe arms.

 

Schools like Arun Nursery School have not only invested in the proper sanitization of their own schools but also encouraged other schools to participate in this drive for their own safety as well as the students' safety.

 

Step 2: Maintaining Cleanliness

 

The most important step in order to reduce the chances of transmission of COVID-19 is to follow and maintain a fixed cleaning routine. One of the most common reasons behind the quick transmission of this virus is touching the surfaces that are contaminated. This can be avoided in schools by the use of disinfectants and cleaning products. Regular use of these products can reduce the effectiveness level of any kind of virus particles, not just COVID-19.

 

Step 3: Paying Extra Attention to Common Touch Areas

 

Every school has desks and chairs for the students as well as dedicated spaces to carry out specific activities like toy rooms, laboratories, playgrounds, etc. The number of students utilizing the same toys or playing on the same swings is really high as it is common for all. This increases the risk of spreading different kinds of infections amongst students because of coming in contact with these common surfaces and objects. Cleaning these common spaces and objects a minimum of twice to thrice a day significantly decreases the chances of virus transmission.

 

Step 4: Reduce use of High Touch Surfaces

 

One way to handle virus transmission is to keep the surroundings clean and sanitized at all times. However, another way to ensure that every child’s well-being and health is kept as a priority, schools should restrict or limit the use of high-touch surface areas and objects. According to Sumitra Mitter ANS, the principal, before the students start coming back to school, school faculty should put in extra effort to train with basic safety rules in regards to COVID-19.

 

Overall, every school today, whether big or small, is currently investing in converting their schools into a safe environment for the students before welcoming them back to in-class education. Moreover, just as the teachers and faculty are worried about the school sanitization, the parents are all the more hesitant to trust and send their kids to school. This is why it is important that the schools keep the parents informed about all practices they adopt in order to guarantee proper sanitization. Arun Nursery School is no exception.