Pune: Schools issue advisories, take preventive measures

From asking students to carry hand sanitisers and packs of hand tissues to advising parents not to send children to school in case of the slightest of symptoms, schools are using all means of communication from apps to emails and broadcast text messaging to reach out to stakeholders.

Sanskriti School, Pune, has sent two such updates in the last week. Even though just three days remain for the school to shut, trustee Praneet Mungali said they were prepared to reschedule the remaining papers if need be.

“In addition to asking parents to ensure students are home if sick and assuring them that we will help them cope with missed academics, the school has trained all bus attendants to recognize symptoms at the time of pick-up itself. Also, we have trained nurses on our campus and created isolation bays for students to rest until parents pick them up,” he said.

Other schools too have followed suit. A parent of a student from Euroschool Undri shared a detailed advisory from school principal Seema Bahukhandi on steps to be taken by the school, parents, and teachers, advising parents not to trust the information on social media and rely only on official government-verified sources.

City schools are trying to play their part in containing the panic while also raising awareness. An advisory by Mansukhlal Kothari School advised parents not to panic, refrain from stockpiling face masks and even spreading or trusting unscientific information on coronavirus.

Bishops School in its advisory has asked students to follow basic hygiene practices such as carrying tissues and hand sanitisers but also advised them to use N95 masks till the scare settled. This despite the fact that the Food and Drug Administration has restricted the sale of masks owing to a severe shortage.

“It’s not mandatory, just advice. And if there is a shortage, we will follow whatever government authorities have advised,” a spokesperson said.