Need to make school environment safe to hold A/Levels without disruption
Consider holding the Advanced Level (AL) examination a priority and make arrangements to facilitate a conducive environment at school-level to do so in February, is the strong plea of Consultant Paediatrician Dr. LakKumar Fernando.
Cautioning that he is expecting the Omicron wave to peak in mid or late-February, he urges that there should not be a postponement of the AL as it would disrupt the lives of students.
A way to support holding the AL as scheduled is to make the school environment relatively safe by bringing in fewer students in other grades to school, says Dr. Fernando, suggesting that classes should call in half the number of students or have staggered lessons. Classrooms should have adequate ventilation and whenever classes are in session, it would be good to throw open all the windows so that there is a good air-flow.
He reiterates that children should also be coaxed to wear face masks and maybe N-95 or KN-95 masks than cloth masks and surgical masks. The mask should fit well especially above the nose-bridge so that there are no gaps. Children should also be heavily encouraged to take their vaccines.
All children in the 16-19 agegroup are eligible for the vaccine – the 1st dose followed three months after by the 2nd dose. If a child gets infected with COVID-19, he/she can take the vaccine a month after the infection. The children in the 12-15 age group are eligible for one dose of the vaccine.