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To avoid the risk of coronavirus infection and limit its spread, the Ministry of Administrative Development (MADLSA), Labour and Social Affairs has issued a comprehensive guide related to safety and health precautions in nurseries.
The Ministry said that the manual has been issued because the nurseries may represent an appropriate environment for transmission of infection between children and workers as they spend long hours there and nature of unrestricted children’s activities.
It also said the guide is directed to owners of nursery licenses and the cadres working in them including administrators, educators and workers, in addition to the parents of children. In details, the Ministry said, that the general procedures include that the nursery should dispatch an official letter to the Ministry that it has fulfilled all the health requirements within the nursery and that the nursery must not directly start conduct its business before it obtains written approval from the Ministry.
“It is not allowed to open nurseries whose licence have expired and the license has not been renewed. Also, it is not allowed to open nurseries that did not obtain a health facility license for the nurse’s room from the Ministry of Public Health until the date of opening the nurseries,” the Ministry said.
All employees in the nursery, the Ministry said, must show the green status on the Ehteraz application as well as the companions of the child who drop him to a nursery. Regarding the financial issues, the Ministry advised on the importance of encouraging parents to pay fees online or by credit cards.
“All workers in the nursery should undergo a coronavirus test and nurseries do not start providing the services until negative results for all workers are received. In addition excluding workers who have special conditions such as (breastfeeding, pregnancy, chronic diseases etc.) should be excluded from work in a nursery,” the guide says.
It added that in case of any infected cases in the nursery, it will be closed for a period of 14 days. “The infected case must be checked again before his rejoining the job, or joining the nursery if he/she is a child. Also, the nursery should provide a separate room dedicated to isolating the suspected cases,” said the Ministry.
The Ministry stated that it is forbidden to receive children in case they are in contact with a coronavirus patient and that parents should sign a written commitment not to bring the child in case that they mingled or their child mingled with any of the corona patients. It also added that “children with symptoms of a temperature above 37.8 ° C, dry cough, vomiting, runny nose, and shortness of breath are not allowed to enter a nursery”.
According to guidelines, the nursery should also provide thermometers to periodically measure the temperature of children in a nursery, especially when receiving children, in addition to providing hands sterilising materials at the nursery main gate.
The guide also states that it is forbidden to receive parents and visitors inside the nursery, and all children and workers in a nursery are obliged to take off the shoes outside the nursery, while wearing a special clean shoe inside the nursery.
“All employees in a nursery must adhere to wearing masks and gloves during work and avoid touching the eyes, nose and mouth, as well as preventing handshaking, and physical contact,” said the Ministry.
The guide also stressed that the nursery should consider providing hygiene and sterilization supplies and making them available for children and workers in each nursery room in a safe place out of the child’s reach.
