Ministry of Education finalises protocol should any COVID-19 case is detected |14 March 2020

The meeting yesterday (Photo: Jude Morel)

Yesterday morning, the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development (MEHRD) met representatives from educational institutions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic at short notice at the auditorium of the Seychelles Institute of Teachers Education at Mont Fleuri.

Two representatives of the Ministry of Health – Dr Robert Michel and Brigitte Labonte; the principal secretary Dr Odile Decommarmond and the director for Health and Safety and Risk Management Section at the MEHRD, Regina Prosper, explained to the attendees the protocol to be used if there is any suspected case or a sick child at the school.

They informed the schools on the need to adhere to strict hygienic practices, to follow the advice given by the Ministry of Health and to discuss what are to be done in the event that there is a need for schools to be closed down.

PS Decommarmond also said that during a meeting held earlier yesterday morning, all schools have been told to make sure that all children have their textbooks if ever the school has to close temporarily.

She also noted that “learning should not stop and the Ministry of Education is making sure that the students are being equipped with the necessary materials to continue their studies. We are ready and we do not want to create panic as there is no case of COVID-19 in Seychelles as yet”.

All the speakers kept repeating the fact that there is no COVID-19 in Seychelles and instead of panicking, let us take care of ourselves and our children.

The representatives from the different schools were able to clarify their worries and went back to their institutions well informed.

Vidya Gappy