Greece’s National Health Care organization EODY issued a series of measures for schools in order to reduce the transmission of respiratory infections such as Covid-19, influenza and others.
The “measures” or better say “recommendations” were issued late on Thursday as schools resume operation after the Christmas holidays.
Worth noting that there is no recommendation for wearing of masks or use HEPA filters for better air cleaning, but the “use of soap and water to clean hands, visible dirty [sic!]”
EODY recommendations for teachers, students and other staff:
Regular hand washing
o When hands are visibly dirty (soap and water)
o Before and after: ▪Preparing or serving a meal & ▪Using the toilet
o Washing hands with liquid soap and water, for at least 20 seconds, will be followed by careful drying with disposable paper towels and disposal in waste bins.
o Alternatively, the application of an alcoholic antiseptic solution is recommended.
Good ventilation of indoor teaching areas
It is recommended to open the windows regularly to improve ventilation.
– Avoiding poorly ventilated areas with crowds of people (e.g. corridors, stairs, use of elevators)
– Avoiding gatherings of many people – keeping physical distances
– Avoiding touching the face, nose, eyes and mouth and washing hands well before and after
Cough or sneeze into elbow or tissue.
If a tissue is used, it should be carefully disposed of after a single use followed by hand washing.
In case of symptoms
– If a student shows symptoms of a respiratory infection (sore throat, cough, runny nose) or has a positive laboratory test result for a respiratory pathogen such as SARS-CoV-2, influenza virus or RSV, it is recommended to stay at home and limit contacts with other people.
– Staying at home is recommended until the symptoms subside or improve and at least 24 hours have passed since the fever has completely subsided (without taking medicine against fever.)
In short, EODY recommends that schools facilities are miraculously expanded to avoid crowding in classrooms, corridors and stairs, to have children freeze with open windows in winter and use soap and water to clean only very dirty hands. I bet, the same recommendations are applicable in Afghanistan, despite the sharp and ongoing increase of Covid-19 and other respiratory infections in Greece.
