Hygiene in Schools After COVID
- Maya Ribeiro
- Mar 14, 2021
- 3 min read
To all our school going readers, the familiarity of unhygienic school places is a very vivid one. Shared bathroom spaces, extremely cramped and crowded cafeterias, Hallways filled with multiple students during break and worst of all, shared medicinal properties from the nurses’ office.
We all know the problem exists but it’s never been an issue that needed immediate addressing. Until now. COVID-19 has changed the way our entire globe views personal hygiene and it has become the forefront of one of the numerous issues we have been avoiding. With over 2.5 million COVID related deaths and numbers rising, we at SHARP believe it is time for communal shared spaces, like places of education, to sharpen their hygiene game.
The closure of schools has given rise to multiple mental health challenges and an overall lack of motivation among students. While some have thrived with the online platform, most are ready to see schools opening again so that things may resemble some normalcy. While “normalcy” is what humans thrive after, it goes without saying that schools must change their methods of education for multiple reasons, primarily student safety.
Israeli schools opened fully in mid May with almost no safety measures. In ten days, there were 178 confirmed cases of which 153 were students. If students are being infected at such a large scale, attention needs to be given to sanitary problems that schools may knowingly or unknowingly facilitate. It is cases like these that makes over 60% of the parent population hesitant to send their children to school, understandably so.
Schools must take responsibility for their students and in different ways than before a global pandemic and provide the safest environment possible for students. While only 8.5% of the reported cases are children under 18, most are reported in educational institutions. The role of students in transmission is unclear, but there is no need for unnecessary risk at this moment in time.
Physical schools are based on the concept of collaboration, peer to peer support. It is a very active community of communication and physical presence. Given that there is so much exposure to the outside world, an average student comes in contact with over 15200 germs in a day. Transport in buses, cars, etc. transmits those germs all over, making it a relentless cycle of passing and gaining viruses.
Hence, a completely clean, safe space might be difficult to fathom in reference to schools, we at SHARP have a few suggestions on a few precautionary measures that could be taken and that students could take responsibility for their implementation
Wear masks
Much like schools have compulsory dress codes, masks must be included.
Social distancing
Instead of cramped shared benches, individual desks must be provided to each student
Minimize crowds
Create a one way traffic in school hallways
Prevent risk of infection
Using physical obstacles, such as plexiglass shields and partitions, to separate educators and students
Cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces can help reduce the risk of illness. This includes frequently touched items such as doorknobs, faucets, keyboards, tablets and phones.
Among numerous other measures, these are a few that we believe must be followed. The pandemic has been a strange time for all of us and we cannot wait to see the world as a more hygienic, sustainable place. As students, it starts with us and our ability to force authorities to change. Happy learning and wash your hands! Maya Ribeiro SHARP
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