In order to prioritize opening schools safely and helping them to remain open, we should consider adopting actions to mitigate community transmission.
Schools are an important part of the infrastructure of communities and play a critical role in supporting the whole child, not just their academic achievement.
It is important to consider community transmission risk as schools reopen. Evidence from schools internationally suggests that school re-openings are safe in communities with low SARS-CoV-2 transmission rates .School re-opening may further increase transmission risk in communities where transmission is already high
Preventive Behaviours
It is critical that all administrators engage and encourage everyone in the school and the community to practice preventive behaviours. These are the most important actions that will support schools’ safe reopening and will help them stay open.
Returning to school in poses new challenges for schools, including implementing mitigation measures (e.g., social distancing, cleaning and disinfection, hand hygiene, use of masks), addressing social, emotional, and mental health needs of students, addressing potential learning loss, and preparing for the probability of COVID-19 cases within the broader school community.
SARS-CoV-2 mitigation strategies should be integrated into co-curricular and extracurricular activities (e.g., limiting or cancelling participation in activities where social distancing is not feasible).Maintain healthy environments (e.g., cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces).
It is critical to develop a proactive plan for when a student or staff member tests positive for COVID-19. Develop a plan with local health department to conduct case tracing in the event of a positive case.
It is critical to educate parents and caregivers on the importance of monitoring for and responding to the symptoms of COVID-19 at home. Stay updated on COVID-19 transmission and response in your local area.
Planning for When Someone Gets Sick
It is important to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of students, teachers, other school staff, their families, and communities. It is important to develop a plan to conduct contact tracing in the event of a positive case.
Schools are an important part of the infrastructure of communities, as they provide safe, supportive learning environments for students, employ teachers and other staff, and enable parents, guardians, and caregivers to work. Schools also provide critical services that help to mitigate health disparities, such as school meal programs, and social, physical, behavioural, and mental health services.
School closure disrupts the delivery of these critical services to children and families, and places additional economic and psychological stress on families, which can increase the risk for family conflict and violence.
Signs and Symptoms
Common COVID-19 symptoms among children include fever, headache, sore throat, cough, fatigue, nausea/vomiting, and diarrhoea. However, many children and adults infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 are asymptomatic (meaning they have no signs or symptoms of illness).
Impact of COVID-19 on children
Children appear to be at lower risk for contracting COVID-19 compared to adults. While some children have been sick with COVID-19, adults make up nearly 95% of reported COVID-19 cases. Early reports suggest children are less likely to get COVID-19 than adults, and when they do get COVID-19, they generally have a less serious illness.
Adolescents aged 10-17 may be more likely to become infected with SARS-CoV-2 than children younger than age 10, but adolescents do not appear to be at higher risk of developing severe illness.
Children and adults with certain underlying medical conditions are at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Severe illness means that they may require hospitalization, intensive care, or a ventilator to help them breathe, or may even die.
Children with intellectual and developmental disabilities are more likely to have comorbid medical conditions (e.g., diseases of the respiratory system; endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases; and diseases of the circulatory system) that may put them at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
Expect Cases of COVID-19 in Communities
International experiences have demonstrated that even when a school carefully coordinates, plans, and prepares, cases may still occur within the community and schools. Expecting and planning for the occurrence of cases of COVID-19 in communities can help everyone be prepared for when a case or multiple cases are identified. Prepare for potential COVID-19 cases and increased school community transmission.
Strategies that keep smaller groups of students together can also help limit the impact of COVID-19 cases when they do occur in a school.
Continue Routine Cleaning and Disinfecting
Routine cleaning and disinfecting are an important part of reducing the risk of exposure to COVID-19. Normal routine cleaning with soap and water alone can reduce risk of exposure and is a necessary step before you disinfect dirty surfaces.
Surfaces frequently touched by multiple people, such as door handles, desks, phones, light switches, and faucets, should be cleaned and disinfected at least daily. More frequent cleaning and disinfection may be required based on level of use.
Computer keyboards are difficult to clean. Shared computers should have signs posted instructing proper hand hygiene before and after using them to minimize disease transmission. To facilitate cleaning, consider using covers that protect the keys but enable use of the keys. Soft surfaces such as carpets, rugs, and drapes can be cleaned using soap and water or a cleaner appropriate for the material.
The Use of Masks in Schools
Along with important mitigation strategies, masks are important to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Other important mitigation strategies include social distancing, washing hands, and regular cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces in schools and buses.
The use of masks is especially important when social distancing is difficult to maintain. Masks are recommended as a simple barrier to help prevent respiratory droplets from traveling into the air and onto other people when the person wearing the mask coughs, sneezes, talks, or raises their voice. Masks are an example of source control.
Several studies have documented asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 transmission; meaning that people with COVID-19 who never develop symptoms (asymptomatic) and those who are not yet showing symptoms (pre-symptomatic) can still transmit the virus to other people. Masks are meant to protect other people in case the wearer is unknowingly infected.
The use of masks in educational settings may present challenges, particularly for younger students and students with special healthcare or educational needs.
Masks should not be placed on: children younger than 2 years old, anyone who has trouble breathing or is unconscious and anyone who is incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.
Appropriate and consistent use of masks may be challenging for some students, teachers, and staff, including: younger students, such as those in early elementary school, students, teachers, and staff with severe asthma or other breathing difficulties, students, teachers, and staff with special educational or healthcare needs, including intellectual and developmental disabilities, mental health conditions, and sensory concerns or tactile sensitivity.
Students should be aware of the correct use of masks, including wearing masks over the nose and mouth and securely around the face. Students, teachers and staff should be aware that they should wash or sanitize their hands (using a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol) before putting on a mask.
They should be aware that they should not touch their masks while wearing them and, if they do, they should wash their hands before and after with soap and water or sanitize hands (using a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol).Teachers and staff should wash or sanitize hands (using a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol) before and after helping a student put on or adjust a mask.
Masks should not be worn if they are wet. A wet mask may make it difficult to breathe. All students and staff should never share or swap masks.
Students and schools should consider having additional masks available for students, teachers, and staff in case a back-up mask is needed during the day and to facilitate every day washing of masks.
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