Coronavirus: Guidelines issued for educational institutions in UAE

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention has declared educational institutions safe spaces, but encourages caution.

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHaP), in collaboration with the health ministries of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah have issued new guidelines for schools and universities to guard themselves against Novel Coronavirus.

Educational institutions are considered safe, and the use of masks by students or faculty is not recommended under normal circumstances.

In the case a student or staff has a relative visiting from China, or has himself returned from China in the past 14 days, they must b excused from school for a period of 14 days from the date of arrival, regardless of the presence of symptoms.

It is recommended to avoid close contact with those showing flu-like symptoms, and parents of children who are showing such symptoms are advised to keep them at home.

Transmission can be limited by:

• Cleaning hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water.
• Making sure that hand sanitizer is available at all times.
• Covering the mouth with the inner elbow while coughing or sneezing, or doing so into a tissue

In the event a student or staff shows flu-like symptoms in the educational institutions, they must be immediately referred to the nurse for evaluation, who must then:

• Follow all direction in the ADPHC-DG/ 2/2020 Circular.
• Wear the N95 mask.
• Provide the suspected case with a surgical mask until the case is transferred and necessary medical action is taken.
• Coordinate with the operations centre at the Department of Health Abu Dhabi (DOH) to determine the specified receiving hospital for the suspected case.
• Report the suspected case of 2019-nCoV through the Electronic reporting system for reporting infectious diseases.

© Khaleej Times