Protocols for COVID-19 updates in Valencian educational centres

Wednesday 24th March 2021 | PRESS RELEASE; translation MIKE SMITH

The Regional Health Ministry has updated the protection and prevention protocols against the transmission and infection of SARS-CoV-2 in educational centres that teach non-university courses with the latest recommendations from the Ministry of Health and other regulatory developments.

The update stresses how to properly ventilate educational spaces as well as explains in detail how to proceed with children and teachers who have chronic diseases. In addition, it is specified that in the event that a minor cannot use a face mask due to any of the provided exemptions, the rest of the prevention measures must be intensified “without interfering with their right to face-to-face education“.

The document also confirms the correct use of face masks for children aged 6 years and above and recommends them for younger children aged between 3 and 6 years. It also details the use of surgical masks or FFP2 by teachers when attending to students who don’t use a mask (0-3 years) or with special needs, as well as students who are displaying suspicious symptoms.

With regards to physical and sporting activity outside of the the normal school day, the new protocol is adapted to the resolution of February 25th 2021 which allows the participation in group sports activities and sports training, with a maximum of four people in established groups which avoid contact with other activity or training groups, and always outdoors or in open facilities.

Likewise, the updated protocol makes it possible “to carry out only individual sports and without physical contact which maintain the safety distance between participating athletes“. It also emphasizes that group sports activities and sports training will carried without spectators.

On the other hand, the document recommends stopping face-to-face activities that are carried out in schools relating to planning activities for health promotion and disease prevention that are carried out within the framework of the health education portfolio at the school stage, except those carried out online or directly by the teaching staff.

The objective of all these measures is that school environments continue to healthy and safe during the pandemic. These spaces tend to register a very low proportion of cases with respect to the total number of confirmed infections. Moreover, the detection of COVID-19 cases in the school environment doesn’t always indicate the presence of transmission in the school but is usually a consequence of the increase of community transmission that is reflected in cases in the education centre. In addition, children usually present mild or moderate clinical profiles.

Information Source
Press Release – Generalitat Valenciana