School Reopening Oct 2021: My Musings

The following is a worrying first sentence from a recent Malaysian newspaper article.

“There has been a frightening rise in the number of children dying of Covid-19 this year, with 41 fatalities under the age of 17 compared to only six in 2020.” (FMT)

To make matters worst……

Schools have been scheduled to be reopened on Oct. 3 2021.

Like all other parents, I have been thinking a lot about this matter. The following are some of my light musings on this serious matter.

1.??????Should students get a constant supply of free face masks and face shields at schools?

I am sure there are a lot good of good-hearted people who can sponsor.?This will reduce the financial burden for some parents.

(PS: Dear Dato Seri Vida, I don’t mind some pink coloured masks).

The above picture shows a contactless mask dispenser.

2.??????Is it all right to open schools when the teachers, staff, supporting staff, and other school workers (guards, canteen workers) are fully vaccinated?

Point to ponder: Many unvaccinated people may be indirectly involved with schools, like parents ferrying their child to school, school bus drivers, school walkway stall operators, etc. Currently, the fully vaccinated adult rate is 49.3% (Sept. 8 2021). Remember this situation!

3.??????How do we proactively instead of reactively inspect schools for compliance with the SOPs or Guidelines?

Previously, schools were shut down mainly for disinfection and close contact tracing when there was a cluster or a positive case. It seems to be a reactive measure then. The MOH or PKD’s plates are full.?It would be great to see someone else stepping in to help. I read somewhere, one of the famous audit firms did some work for the Oscars. Imagine “The Big Four” auditing school for compliance.

4.??????Should we stick to a one-size-fits-all guideline, or should we decentralise it to the individual schools?

The autonomy will enable the schools to modify according to their local context and factors. Sometimes, decentralization can be beneficial.

5.??????Who checks the quality of the sanitisers and thermometers that are being used in the schools?

I saw some SIRIM certified thermometers beings sold on Lazada and Shopee. I wonder whether all schools are using them.

6.??????Can we conduct weekly screening for unvaccinated students from moderate to high-risk areas?

Now testing can be done easily using saliva, and there is even a lollipop type testing kit. Maybe this would allow us to nip things at the bud.

A schoolboy uses a newly developed lollipop-shaped Covid-19 test in Vienna on Thursday. Photo: AFP

7.??????Should we have frequent assessments for students on handwashing techniques and respiratory etiquette?

Assessment promotes learning. All those who talk a lot about gamification of education, time for you to do something: we can make assessments fun.

*My son loves the above learning app.

8.??????Should we clean and disinfect the school daily?

CDC’s Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in K-12 Schools (Updated Aug. 5, 2021) recommends it. Maybe we can create a rapid training program to train those who lost their jobs to become disinfection and cleaning specialists.

SOSCO, DOSH, HRD Corp and …….. can consider this.?

9.??????Should more grants be focused on Covid-19, including some for child safety?

Before Covid-19, everybody mentions AI, deep machine learning, big data, blockchain etc. Here and there got Serie A, B, C funding, Hackathon, Unicorn etc. Many people claim their app using AI and other mumbo jumbo terms. I am wondering why there is not much collaboration. Imagine using AI to predict the next red zone and closing the schools in advance in that area.

Dear MDEC and MOSTI, would you like to shift your focus to MedTech during this pandemic temporarily. Maybe we should have some mechanism or grants to accelerate more of our home-grown talent and unique tech, like how the world accelerated the development of the Covid-19 vaccines.

?10.??Should we get more volunteers like PPV centres so that schools can manage students efficiently?

From my personal experience, most PPV was well managed due to the significant number of volunteers. I guess this will also reduce the burden for the teachers, which I am assuming is massive during these troubling times.?

Picture: MyVAC (Malaysia Vaccine Support Volunteers)

What do you think about my musings? Would you mind sharing your thoughts also?