Officials of the Department of School Education and Literacy in the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development have sent a letter to the Chief Secretaries of all States to take steps to educate students on protocols to be followed to prevent the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 infection .
In a letter dated March 4, Secretary Amit Khare advised the Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories that all schools should raise awareness among their students about the spread of such infections.
The letter has provided detailed instructions: “create awareness about preventive interventions such as frequent hand wash, respiratory etiquette (using handkerchief over mouth while coughing/sneezing, use of tissue paper or using the sleeve of shirt covering the upper arm, staying away from school when sick, avoiding public gathering etc.) to help preventing/reducing transmission.”
It further adds that these methods would not only help to prevent the spread of COVID-19 but also other communicable diseases , particularly flu-like illnesses.
The COVID-19 has struck at the time when the Central Board of Secondary Examination’s class X and XII public exams are being held. The CBSE, on Wednesday, permitted students to carry face masks and hand sanitisers into examination halls.
As of Wednesday, as many as 29 persons in the country had been declared infected with the virus, The first infection was reported in Kerala, and the subsequent two patients were from that State. The first reported virus infection in humans was in Wuhan in China in December last year.
