Safety measures for schools during the COVID-19 pandemic

[UPDATE] Safety measures for schools during the COVID-19 pandemic

2 Sept 2020 – By 31 August, all grades of South African schools have returned to the classroom. In the context of COVID-19, a number of safety preconditions are necessary before schools can be reopened.

The Department of Basic Education has recently revised its Directions for School Reopening and these new Draft Amendments to the Directions are available for public comment. Read the Draft Amendments to the Directions here.

• Interested parties are invited to comment on the directions and send recommendations – by hand, post or email – by 7 September 2020.

The DBE has also updated its Standard Operating Procedures for the prevention, containment and management of COVID-19 in schools.  Read the revised draft of the SOPs here, for updated guidelines and protocols for preventing the spread of COVID-19 in schools and managing the effects of the virus.

Below, we list safety guidelines for the reopening of schools from the Department of Basic Education itself, as well as other reliable guidelines necessary for the reopening of schools.

If you are a learner, parent, caregiver, educator or school staff member, explore the guidelines below. If you don’t think your school complies to these guidelines and is therefore unprepared be reopened safely, you can send an email to chaskalson@section27.org.za with details.

Department of Basic Education (DBE) Guidelines:

DBE | GUIDELINES FOR SCHOOLS ON MAINTAINING HYGIENE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.

DBE | STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR THE PREVENTION, CONTAINMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF COVID-19 IN SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL COMMUNITIES.

• Updated Draft SOPs as per 30 August 2020, available here: https://section27.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/2020.08.18-Revised-SOPs-for-Prevention-Containment-and-Management.pdf

DBE | CORONAVIRUS ORIENTATION GUIDELINES FOR SCHOOLS.

DBE | GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCHOOL TIMETABLES REOPENING OF SCHOOLS COVID-19.

Non-DBE Guidelines:

WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION | CONSIDERATIONS FOR SCHOOL-RELATED PUBLIC HEALTH MEASURES IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID-19

THE COLLEGES OF MEDICINE OF SOUTH AFRICA | GUIDANCE DOCUMENT 4 REDUCING TRANSMISSION OF COVID-19 IN THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT: INFORMING PUBLIC HEALTH RECOMMENDATIONS