Amid rising Covid-19 cases, SOPs issued for Delhi schools

The education department on Friday asked schools to ensure that no student, teacher, or guest is allowed inside campuses without proper thermal scanning as it issued standard operating procedures (SOPs) for educational institutes amid rising Covid-19 cases in Delhi. The schools have been directed against allowing access to symptomatic students, staff, or guests.

Teachers will be required to ask about Covid-19 related symptoms among students or family members during the time of attendance checking daily. The students with Covid symptoms will have to be taken to quarantine rooms. The schools will have to ensure students do not share food, books, and stationery items.

“If a student or staff member displays any Covid symptoms like fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle ache, headache, loss of smell or taste, sore throat, diarrhoea, etc they should be moved away from other people and into an outdoor, well-ventilated quarantine room,” say the SOPs.

The schools have been asked to make hand sanitisation at the entrances of schools, classrooms, labs, etc mandatory.

Director (education) Himanshu Gupta issued a circular to the schools citing the rising positivity rate and expressed concern about the health of students and staff. “...to prevent [the] spread of Covid-19 infection, a standard operating procedure has been prepared... All heads of schools under [the] directorate of education are directed to adhere to the guidelines in letter and spirit.”

The circular asked the heads of the schools to disseminate the guidelines among students, staff, etc. “Parents should be asked not to send their children to school if somebody at their home displays Covid symptoms.”

The schools have been asked to ensure physical distancing and that students do not assemble or gather near entry or exit gates. “Routine guest visits should be discouraged. The schools should carry out awareness drive among students.”

The schools have been asked to ensure everyone on campuses properly wears masks, availability of washbasins and arrangements for hand washing, etc.