MANY schools have been given approval to resume face-to-face classes on Jan 31 but have been warned they must strictly comply with Covid-19 prevention rules.
Deputy Director General of the Department of Communicable Diseases Control, under the Health Ministry, Dr Sisavath Southanilaxay, has advised schools whose reopening has been approved to ensure they closely follow 10 measures laid down by the ministry.
“These measures and guidelines will help to ease the risk of infection among students and staff,” Dr Sisavath said.
Parents should teach their children how to protect themselves from infection by regularly washing their hands, wearing a face mask, checking their temperature, and follow social distancing rules.
It is also important that parents get their children vaccinated. The Ministry of Education and Sports is compiling data on the number of schools that have been authorised to resume face-to-face classes.
To ensure the safe reopening of schools, the ministry’s Taskforce for Covid-19 Prevention and Control has been working with the Ministry of Health to define measures.
The Ministry of Education and Sports has instructed education and sports administrators to implement measures within the scope of their responsibilities so that schools are fully prepared to safely resume face-to-face learning.
The Education Department will organise a pilot schools reopening to include timetable scheduling, reopening date, school assistance plan, and provision of immunisation supplies and essentials.
The pilot reopening of Grade 5 in primary schools and Grades 4 and 7 in secondary schools will kick off on Jan 31.
Before they can reopen, schools must meet at least 70% of the measures stipulated by the ministry, and their suitability for reopening will be assessed by a special committee.
Many schools in Vientiane and provinces have already been allowed to resume in-person classes.After a school has reopened under the pilot scheme, the area will be monitored twice weekly to identify the highest and lowest number of infections. — Vientiane Times/ANN
