Schools are told to plan for emergencies

Schools and kindergartens should plan for emergencies such as students developing coronavirus-related symptoms like a fever or a cough, or if a suspected or a confirmed coronavirus cases is found on campus, Shanghai Education Commission said on Friday.

It released a guide for educational institutions on how to handle various emergency scenarios.

In one scenario, teachers who find a student with symptoms should take the student to a temporary observation site as soon as possible and ensure a mask is worn. The school should tell the parents to take the student to a fever clinic. It should then disinfect areas where the student has been and report the case to the district’s education bureau and community health center.

In another scenario, if three or more students in the same dorm room or class develop coronavirus-related symptoms in one day, or at least five show symptoms within three days, all the students and those who have eaten, drunk water and had classes with them should be handled as in the earlier scenario.

Other students and teachers in the dorm and class should be quarantined under the guidance of disease control authorities, who will also direct the school to disinfect the campus. The education authority will decide whether to discharge the quarantined people according to medical diagnosis.

If a student is identified as a suspected case or confirmed with an infection, the school should designate staff to cooperate with disease control authorities in epidemiological investigations, tracking close contacts and other work. They will also contact parents to arrange quarantine and disinfect the campus as required.

If two or more confirmed cases or asymptomatic infections are found in one dormitory room, one class or one building within 14 days, with close contacts and risk of interpersonal transmission, school administrators should suspend related classes or the whole school, besides actions involving quarantine and disinfection.