Reopening Schools – COVID 19 Safety

The news of K-12 schools reopening throughout the country came simultaneously as the news of the Delta variant of COVID-19 having a stronger effect on children’s health. Both news brought a lot of fear among parents and school administrations alike.

While ensuring Covid-19 SOPs and safety measures that come with reopening the schools fall on the authorities, parents also play an important role in keeping their children safe. Take the following steps to make sure your child isn’t bringing the virus home:

Integrate Distanced Learning

The most effective method to avoiding Covid-19 is to avoid going outside. While you may not want to home-school your child for life, you can talk to the school administration or teachers to keep your child home a couple of days every week. You can discuss lesson plans with teachers in advance and track your child’s progress on the days they are learning from home.

It will require extra effort from your end, but it is a great way to minimize your child’s contact with those potentially carrying the virus. The more your child stays home, the lesser will be their chances of contracting the virus.

Practice Safe Distancing

Practice safe distancing at home with your child to help them apply it at school. Your child doesn’t have to sit in a corner alone all day at school. They can get involved in activities and discussions while maintaining a safe distance.

Human beings, especially children, can adapt to new things quickly. Teach your child not to shake hands with or sit close to others, teach them not to share their lunch with friends or touch things and surfaces unnecessarily, and teach them to speak and read with a mask on. Seeing your child maintain their distance can also make other kids maintain their distance from each other too.

Teach Covid-19 SOPs

While following Covid-19 SOPs has become a part of daily routine, it’s important to remind your children to follow them as they go back to school. Equip them with a comfortable mask, sanitizer, cleaning wipes, napkins, and a few pairs of disposable gloves. There is a high chance the school will provide all covid-19 essentials to all children, but there’s nothing wrong with being prepared if the school ever runs out.

Halt Co-Curricular Activities

Your child might be excited to practice their favorite co-curricular activities again, but it’s best to hold them off for a while. You and your child’s focus for the near future should be on developing a safe learning routine during the pandemic. Once that is established, you will be more comfortable with your child pursuing other interests.

However, if your child’s interests are sports, cheerleading, music, or performative arts, they should not be pursuing these interests until they are declared safe to practice by the authorities. Don’t send your child to seminars, discussions, competitions, or tours either. Besides increasing the chances of your child contracting Covid-19, they can also feel overwhelming to any child staying at home for almost two years.

Build a Hygiene Routine

Get your child into the habit of taking a shower every day after school. A thorough cleaning every day after school will ensure that your child is staying as hygienic as possible. Make them change their clothes immediately after coming back from school too. Dirty clother should be washed right away. Make them dispose of their mask too. In case your child is using a reusable mask, make them wash it before they take a shower. Equip your child with a disinfecting spray that they can spray on their school bag and shoes before entering the home.

Your child should also develop the habit of sanitizing their hands every 15 minutes when at school and every time they borrow an item from someone. If the school hours are short, build your child’s eating habits so that they can avoid going to restrooms at school. Restrooms and gyms are the most germ-infested places at school and places and should be avoided if possible.

Stay Updated with News

Keep an eye on the number of covid-19 cases in your area, and don’t send your child to school if they seem to rise for a few days. Call the school and inform them if you find the situation getting worse. Ask for distanced learning for your child if you don’t feel comfortable sending them to school.

If your child experiences covid-19 symptoms, get them tested and inform the school of the sickness symptoms despite the result. It’s not wise to take a risk with new variants coming in every few months. Once your child’s sickness symptoms subside, get your home thoroughly cleaned and sanitized and ask the school to do the same. Many restoration services, such as 911 Restoration of Chattanooga, provide thorough cleaning and disinfecting services to personal and commercial properties.

They will use industrial-grade disinfectants and thorough cleaning processes to make sure all surfaces are rid of any possible bacteria and viruses.