As part of the precautionary measures to prevent it from Corona infection
"Healthy" conditions for the reopening of schools in Dubai and Sharjah
The two bodies stressed the need to train the medical staff in the school clinic. Emirates today
Sawsan Al-Nahhas: “The Knowledge and Human Development Authority issued guidelines for opening schools.”
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The Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai and Sharjah for Private Education stressed the need to appoint a special health and safety employee in each private school, as it is a condition for reopening the doors of schools for students, with the start of the new school year.
They also called on school administrations to allocate rooms, inside school clinics, to isolate infected cases, and suspected cases, with the emerging corona virus (Covid-19), and to ensure that the medical staff in the school clinic completed the "Covid-19" training, before joining the school.
For its part, the Ministry of Health and Community Protection affirmed that the precautionary requirements, which will be imposed by the school administrations, will be subject to continuous supervision and control from them.
In detail, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai called for the appointment of a special health and safety employee in each school, to follow up on emergency situations, monitor the implementation of health and safety measures, and hold the necessary training for students and teaching staff, in addition to supervising the isolation room inside the school building.
She added that the school's health and safety official should be informed of the Dubai Health Authority, via the "hotline", of any injury that appears among school visitors, students, or the teaching and administrative staff, even if they are stable. And when there is an unstable situation inside the school, it is necessary to contact the emergency service directly.
She explained that the school should isolate any student, teacher, or employee with symptoms of "Covid-19", inform the parent of the sick student, and then send him to the hospital. The patient is not allowed to return to school except after obtaining the result of the «BCR» examination, provided that the result is negative, and the clinical evaluation confirms that he is not likely to be infected with the virus. In the event that the result is negative, and the evaluation stated that he may be infected with the virus, he must be kept in quarantine for a period of 14 days. If the result is positive, those in contact with him must be traced, and they must be quarantined for a period of 14 days.
For its part, the Sharjah Special Education Authority has set several requirements for the school clinic, including that the medical staff complete the "Covid-19" training before joining the school, and that the clinic and its medical staff have a valid license.
The medical staff must also follow the instructions, in accordance with the instructions of the concerned health authorities, and ensure that strict hygiene and disinfection protocols are implemented in the clinic, in accordance with the specified instructions.
When planning to reopen the school, school medical staff must ensure that there are specific levels of essential items in storage, and that the clinic is equipped with water taps, soaps, disinfectants, ample supplies of PPE, and thermometers (which do not need to be touched). In addition, the medical staff made sure that students, teachers and school staff knew the location of the clinic, and that they were aware of the health protocols and procedures related to "Covid-19".
They must also ensure that the school clinic contains an "isolation room" separate from the nursing room, and provide ventilation and toilets for suspected or confirmed cases, and a "treatment room" for minor illnesses, accidents and injuries, in addition to a waiting area for triage of patients.
The Dubai Health Authority confirmed the development of an action plan for the reopening of schools, and issued new standards for school clinics, including standards for isolation room, and details of reporting infectious diseases, according to the Senior Public Health Specialist, Acting Head of the School Health Department at the Authority, Dr. Sawsan Al-Nahhas.
Al-Nahas reported that the Knowledge and Human Development Authority issued guidelines for opening schools, which included the precautionary measures that must be followed in order to prevent the spread of infection in the school environment, and thus its spread to community members.
Al-Nahas confirmed the preparation of a training program for school cadres, to ensure the strict implementation of precautionary measures, and to answer the questions raised, in addition to preparing a course for operations in emergency situations and dealing with suspected cases.
She said that the health cadre in private schools consists of qualified and trained medical and nursing staff.
She pointed out that the new standards, which were adopted for the next academic year, included providing an isolation room in the school, issuing the standards that must be met, and placing them on the website of the Health Authority.
School procedures
The administrations of private schools in Dubai and Sharjah have confirmed their readiness to receive students, by setting precautionary and preventive measures against the emerging corona virus (Covid-19), most notably reducing the number of students in classes to a maximum of 50%, in addition to preparing separate isolation rooms for cases suspected of being infected. HIV infection, and first aid processing.
She pointed out that the school clinic nurses have undergone training and qualification to deal with suspected or injured cases, under the supervision of the competent health authorities.
The most prominent changes to school clinics are the provision of sanitary isolation places.
The duties of a health officer include following up on cases and monitoring safety procedures.