New Delhi: No student or staff should be allowed entry into school premises without thermal scanning and if any of them tests Covid positive, the institute's authorities must take appropriate quarantine measures, according to Delhi government guidelines for schools. The guidelines were issued in the wake of a spike in coronavirus patients in the city that on Thursday logged 965 cases, 1,009 on Wednesday, 632 on Tuesday and 501 on Monday. Schools have also been advised to ask students to not share lunch and stationery items, the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the city government stated.
Parents should be advised to not send their ward to school if the child or any member in the family tests positive or shows Covid symptoms, it said. "If a student as well as staff member displays any Covid symptoms, they should be moved away from other people into an outdoor ventilated space or quarantine room," the SOP stated. "Teachers are also directed to report to the principal immediately if any student in the class is found with Covid symptoms. The same must be reported to zonal and district authorities and the school may close specific wing temporarily or the area may be cordoned off," it stated. All entry and exit gates of school buildings should be used to avoid crowding at the time of entry and exit of students, it stated.
"Help of volunteers may be taken to avoid crowding and maintaining of Covid-appropriate behaviour (CAB). No student and staff should be allowed to enter premises without thermal scanning," the SOP added. School principals have been advised to hold a meeting with parents as well as school management committees (SMCs) to review compliance of Covid protocols and discuss other confidence boosting measures among students and parents, the Delhi government said in the SOP. Reports of infections from schools have triggered concerns weeks after they opened for offline classes following a two-year gap due to the pandemic.