Follow all virus safety protocols, DHA tells parents of school-going children
DUBAI: The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has highlighted 10 practices that parents must avoid to ensure their children’s safety and the safety of others at school in its parent guidebook for COVID-19.
The guidebook, which is available on the DHA website, aims to provide parents with accurate, updated and reliable information on the best ways to keep themselves, families and communities safe.
Dr Hend Al Awadhi, Head of Health Promotion and Education at the DHA stressed on parents, the importance of adhering to all health instructions issued by schools and detailed in the guidebook.
Al Awadhi said school children who manifest signs and symptoms of the Novel Coronavirus (Covid19)mustundergothemandatorypolymerase Chain Reaction (Pcr/swab) test.
Al Awadhi said it is the responsibility of their parents to immediately notify their respective advisers of their children’s condition and test results: “If necessary, parents must seek medical advice and request a PCR test before returning the child to school. If the result is negative, the parents can send the child to school only ater he/she is free of the symptoms. If positive, they should then follow medical instructions and adhere to isolation precautions while continuing distance learning(as the schools are obliged to provide them with the online lessons).”
“Parents can submit the PCR test result (and the COVID19 Clearance Certificate which can be obtained by dialing the DHA toll free number 800342) upon the child’s return to school,” she also said.
Al Awadhi included these reminders, among other “musts” on Thursday, when she encouraged families, particularly parents, to go over and stick to COVID-19 guidelines that guarantee the safety of their school-aged children.
Foremost, Al Awadhi believes on the strength of the parents’ responsibility to make each and every family/household member aware of the pandemic, especially the causes and signs and symptoms of COVID19 namely fever from 37.5 degrees Celsius and above, coughing, body pain, breathing difficulties, sore throat, runny nose, diarrhea, nausea, headache, and absence or loss of smell and taste.
Children from age six must be taught how to use and wear face masks especially in public places, the reasons for the social distancing, and why parties and similar gatherings or events are no longer part of family life.
The instructions, enumerated in five sections of the 13-page “Parents Guide Booklet COVID-19,” are being implemented in collaboration and in close coordination with the schools in Dubai. These are “accurate, updated, and reliable information on the best ways to keep themselves, families and communities safe.” As stated in the ante before the five sections of the guidebook, “as a parent you want to do everything you can to protect your child (from the pandemic).”
Al Awadhi said pupils observed and discovered to be sick would be atended to by the school medical team and taken to a designated isolation room where they would be personally fetched by their parents or any officially-designated family/ household member.
She added that parents must ensure that their child has sufficient school supplies, food and other essential items so that they don’t have to borrow or share items with one another.
It was on Feb.3 when the UAE Ministry of Education announced the gradual transition of remote schooling to in-person/on-campus in public basic educational institutions across the country from Feb. 14.
Distance learning remains an alternative. In Dubai, private schools, as per the Knowledge Human Development Authority (KHDA), generally implemented is the hybrid or blended approach wherein some days, a designated number of pupils have to be physically present inside their classrooms.
Aside from what families and parents must act on in case their children acquire the contagious
SARS-COV2, the guidebook moreover details the steps to be taken when this age group happens to be “in close contacts” with COVID19 patients.
Al Awadhi said family and household members, as well as others who had come in close contact with the Covid19-stricken child, must observe the 10-day obligatory self-quarantine.
As families and parents are encouraged to consistently monitor their children’s state and condition while in private ferry to their schoolsfor which those observed to be sick should be immediately brought home-the school bus riders would be assigned the front seat/s, immediately taken to the school isolation room, their parents notified for the pickup, and advised to follow all Covid-19-related treatment measures.
Al Awadhi said that the world is currently facing a difficult challenge where adults and children alike may experience fear, worry, and stress. Parents much speak to their children and be open and listen to them. They should reassure them and give them reassurance and comfort.
She reiterated the importance of following precautionary measures-such as wearing face masks, sanitising regularly, and practicing physical distancing- as they have a vital role in preventing the spread of COVID-19.