Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Dr. Carissa Etienne is recommending that countries in the region adopt a phased approach to reopening schools for face-to-face learning in the 2021/22 academic year.
Dr. Etienne said while the reopening of schools should be a priority for all governments, it also must be done in a controlled manner that should be guided by the local epidemiological situation, which can change rapidly.
She said if not done correctly, children and schools would as a result become hosts to future COVID-19 outbreaks in their respective countries.
“Reopening schools is and should be a priority for governments, parents and of course children themselves, however, our region continues to be the epicenter of a severe global pandemic. More than two million people have died in the Americas and over 82 million cases have been reported since the pandemic began. So we do have community transmission of COVID-19 in almost every country and what we do not want is for schools to be transformed into a catalyst for more community transmission,” Dr. Etienne stated.
She added, “Schools must remain a healthy setting for living, learning and working. Schools closure and reopening should be considered as part of the set of social distancing measures that national and local authorities are constantly adjusting, depending on the epidemiological situation and the local response capacity.”
PAHO issues guidance for school reopening
Dr. Etienne outlined a number of recommendations from PAHO which Caribbean governments should follow to ensure a smooth reopening of schools in the new academic school year.
She said, “Surveillance is key to ensuring that reopening is done safely and that learning environments remain safe. Prior to reopening countries must ensure that schools can maintain COVID-19 prevention and its controlled measures, such as: social distancing, hand hygiene, mask wearing and the safe and accessible transportation through and from school is also an important consideration.”
“So, PAHO has developed guidance for school reopening and we are working with our member states so that this can be achieved as safely as possible,” Dr. Etienne further stated.
The PAHO Director said that the ultimate way to safely protect children while reopening schools, is to ensure that the respective governments suppress the virus in their countries as well as push for the 80 percent vaccination goal to reach herd immunity.