Adopting new school cleanliness standards
Primary modes of transmission for COVID-19 occurs between respiratory droplets and contact routes. On surfaces, coronaviruses can live up to several hours and even days, but with proper cleaning and disinfectant, it can be killed on surfaces. This means schools haven’t already, they should adopt more stringent cleaning and hygiene measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Touchable surfaces, like desks, door handles, sinks, and even toilet seats, should be cleaned with a disinfectant several times throughout the school day. Your current cleaning contractors should also maintain a daily cleaning process with disinfectant on all high touch surfaces if they're not already.
With hand hygiene being the most critical method to prevent the spread of coronaviruses, we recommend providing adequate alcohol-based hand sanitiser throughout classrooms and around the school property. Keep in mind, however, that washing your hands thoroughly with soap and water is still the best solution, so perhaps consider enforcing students, teachers, and staff to a handwashing schedule several times a day — especially upon arrival to school.
Additional measures like personal protection equipment (PPE) for staff can be provided to reduce the spread. This can be especially helpful for schools that have students with disabilities and that need additional help from staff.
Installing Sneeze Guards
Sneeze guards made out of acrylic or Plexiglas material are gaining popularity worldwide as another barrier of protection against COVID-19. Many restaurants, supermarkets, retail shops, gas stations, and schools are installing a plastic shield at heavily trafficked and direct communication areas, like the administration building, to protect staff from accidentally getting sneezed or coughed on.
These screens can be installed at counters and desks throughout schools in areas like administration buildings and the library. As mentioned, sneeze guards provide that extra level of protection for your staff and promote social distancing.
If you're a school building manager who is interested in installing a sneeze guard for your school, there are two different options you can take. The first being buying a ready-made solution off the shelf. These typically come in a variety of different sizes and shapes and require self-installation.
The second option, and likely the more effective, would be to have these screens custom made to whatever shape and size your school needs. The benefit of getting a custom made sneeze guard is that you can feel rest assured knowing that the screen is fitted to your space and installed correctly. If you're interested in getting a custom made sneeze guard for your school, please reach out to us — we can help!
Promote Social Distancing
We have all grown accustomed to the term "social distancing" by now and understand what it entails. Yet schools before COVID-19 were not set up for these rules meaning they must now get creative to keep students and staff from spreading germs.
Some of the more common recommendations provided are to prevent queues or place tape down at 1.5 metres designating where students must stand; canceling school assemblies; staggering classtimes and lunches; limiting class sizes or separating desks; closing playgrounds; conducting classes outside.
Other measures like spreading out lockers or building and installing bag racks can also promote safe physical distancing. When students are getting school supplies, materials, or lunches from their bag or locker, they're typically in close quarters. This can be alleviated by building or getting a bag rack with adequate space between hooks or spacing out lockers. Taking it a step further, the number of students allowed to get something out of their bag or locker at a time should be limited.
It is without a doubt that we are living in a strange time. This virus's impact has shown the need for many people and organisations to become adaptable and agile. School building managers, school administrators, and teachers alike have undoubtedly proven their flexibility and ability to transition quickly. We hope that as schools consider reopening their doors that this adaptable mindset will continue with the ability to adopt a few new sets of rules and procedures to ensure our communities remain safe and healthy.
If your school has any planned maintenance requirements, either direct to market or through BAS (we are BAS approved) we encourage you to reach out and contact us or request we be put on the tender. We have enacted strict COVID-19 processes and procedures to limit the risk of spread, and specialise in school maintenance works such as painting, flooring, landscaping and refurbishments.