Schools reopening: tests, suspected cases and fragile workers. Here are the rules of the ministry

What will happen at school in case of suspected cases from Covid? This and other questions are answered by the Ministry of Education

1. Where are the measures that must be taken in case of suspected COVID-19, be it students or school staff?

   The measures to be adopted are contained in the Report of the Istituto Superiore Sanità COVID-19 n. 58/2020 " Operational indications for the management of cases and outbreaks of SARS CoV 2 in schools and in childhood education services".

2. Are there any connection figures between the National Health System and schools?

   Yes. Each school identifies a school contact for COVID-19, possibly one for each complex, who plays an interface role with the Prevention Department of the relevant Local Health Authority. It is also necessary to identify a replacement to avoid interruption of the procedures in case of absence of the contact person.

3. What are the activities of the COVID-19 school contact person?

   The school contact person for COVID-19 plays an interface role with the Prevention Department. In the presence of confirmed COVID-19 cases at school, the contact person collaborates with the Prevention Department in the contact tracing activity by providing: the list of students of the class in which the confirmed case occurred, the list of teachers / educators / experts who have carried out activities within the class where the confirmed case occurred, elements for the reconstruction of close contacts that occurred in the 48 hours before the onset of symptoms (for asymptomatic patients consider the 48 hours prior to the collection of the sample which led to the diagnosis) and those occurred within 14 days after the onset of symptoms (or diagnosis), list of pupils / school workers with frailty and any lists of school workers and / or absent pupils.

4. How will the training of COVID-19 contacts identified by educational institutions take place for the management of suspected or confirmed cases?

   The training course will be provided through Distance Learning (FAD) on the EDUISS platform of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità and will be available asynchronously in the period 28 August / 31 December 2020.

5. Who are the fragile workers?

   They are the "workers most exposed to the risk of contagion, due to their age or the risk condition deriving from immunosuppression, also from Covid-19 disease, or from the outcomes of oncological diseases or from the performance of life-saving therapies or in any case from morbidity that may characterize greater risk ". The frail worker is someone who has pre-existing pathologies (two or more pathologies) which could determine, in the event of contagion, a more serious outcome, to which the employer must ensure "exceptional health surveillance" (art. 83 of Legislative Decree 19 May 2020 n.34 and its conversion into Law 17 July 2020, n.77).

6. How do you identify a fragile worker?

   The worker concerned asks the school manager to initiate the procedure for exceptional health surveillance through the competent doctor or the local services of Inail who provide it with their own occupational doctors.

7. How should the school proceed if a pupil has a rise in body temperature above 37.5 ° C or a symptom compatible with COVID-19?

   School staff who become aware of a symptomatic pupil must notify the School Contact for COVID-19 who immediately warns the parents / legal guardian. The pupil must be equipped with a surgical mask (if older than six years) and housed in a dedicated room where it will be necessary to proceed with the possible detection of body temperature, by the school staff identified, through the use of thermometers that do not provide for contact. The minor must not be left alone but in the company of an adult who preferably must not present risk factors and who must maintain, where possible, the physical distance of at least one meter and wear the surgical mask until the pupil is entrusted to a parent / legal guardian. Parents should contact the pediatrician or general practitioner for clinical evaluation (telephone triage) of the case.

8. How do you proceed if the pupil tests positive?

   If the test is positive, the ASL Prevention Department notifies the case and the school starts the contact search and extraordinary sanitation actions of the school structure in its interested part. To return to the community it will be necessary to wait for the clinical recovery (i.e. the total absence of symptoms) of the pupil. Confirmation of successful healing requires two swabs to be performed 24 hours apart. If both swabs are negative, the pupil can define himself cured, otherwise the isolation will continue. The COVID-19 School Coordinator must provide the Prevention Department with a list of classmates as well as teachers of the confirmed case who have been in contact in the 48 hours prior to the onset of symptoms. Close contacts identified by the Prevention Department with the usual contact tracing activities will be quarantined for 14 days from the date of the last contact with the confirmed case. The Prevention Department will decide on the most suitable strategy for any screening of school staff and pupils.

9. How do you proceed if the pupil is negative on the test?

   If the nasoloro-pharyngeal swab is negative, the pupil, in the opinion of the pediatrician or attending physician, repeats the test after 2-3 days. However, the pupil must remain at home until clinical recovery and negative confirmation of the second test. In the event of a diagnosis of a pathology other than COVID-19 (negative swab), the student will remain at home until clinical recovery following the instructions of the attending physician who will draw up a certificate that the child / student can return to school because the path has been followed diagnostic-therapeutic and prevention for COVID-19.

10. What should be done if a pupil has an increase in body temperature above 37.5 ° C or a symptom compatible with COVID-19, at their home?

    In this situation, the pupil must stay at home and the parents must report the absence of school for health reasons. Parents also inform the pediatrician or the attending physician who, in case of suspicion of COVID-19, promptly requests the diagnostic test and communicates it to the Prevention Department for the execution of the test.

11. In the event that a worker experiences an increase in body temperature above 37.5 ° C or a symptom compatible with COVID-19, in the school setting, what are the procedures to follow?

    In this case, make sure that the worker wears the surgical mask, invite him to leave the facility, return to his home and contact his GP for the necessary clinical evaluation. The attending physician will evaluate the possible prescription of the diagnostic test and will communicate it to the Prevention Department of the ASL which will carry out the test. In the event of a diagnosis of a disease other than COVID-19, the attending physician will draw up a document aimed at certifying that the worker can return to school since the planned diagnostic-therapeutic and prevention path for COVID-19 has been followed.

12. In the event that a worker presents an increase in body temperature above 37.5 ° C or a symptom compatible with COVID-19, at home, what should they do?

    He must stay at home, inform the General Practitioner and communicate the absence from work for health reasons, producing the medical certificate. The Doctor, in case of suspicion of COVID-19, promptly requests the diagnostic test and communicates it to the Prevention Department which will carry out the test. In the event of a diagnosis of a disease other than COVID-19, the Doctor will certify that the worker can return to school because the planned diagnostic-therapeutic and prevention path for COVID-19 has been followed.

13. Is the number of absences in a class a fact to keep under control?

    The COVID-19 School Coordinator must notify the Prevention Department if there is a large number of sudden absences of students in a class or of teachers. The Department of Prevention will carry out an epidemiological investigation to evaluate the public health actions to be taken, taking into account the presence of confirmed cases in the school or of COVID-19 outbreaks in the community.

14. What happens if the transmission chain of infections cannot be reconstructed?

    If a pupil turns out to be "close contact" but asymptomatic in a case of which the transmission chain is not known, the Prevention Department will evaluate the opportunity to carry out a swab at the same time as the quarantine prescription. The swab will be aimed at verifying the role of asymptomatic minors in the transmission of the virus in the community.

15. What procedures are adopted in the case of a pupil or a worker living together with an infected person?

    Upon assessment by the Prevention Department, the pupil or worker will be placed in quarantine. Any close contacts (eg classmates) do not require quarantine, unless further assessments by the Prevention Department.

16. What precautions should be taken in case of a pupil or worker who has contact with a person who lives in close contact with a positive for COVID-19?

    If a pupil or a worker turns out to be in contact with a person in turn in close contact with a positive for Covid-19, there is no precaution to take unless the close contact of the case subsequently results positive for any diagnostic tests arranged. by the Prevention Department and that the latter has ascertained a possible exposure.

17. How should the premises be cleaned in case of a student or worker positive for COVID-19?

    It is necessary to proceed with an extraordinary sanitation of the school, if 7 days or less have passed since the positive person was in the structure. For safety, the areas used by the positive person must be closed until the sanitization is completed, opening doors and windows to facilitate air circulation in the environment.

18. Who prescribes the quarantine for students of a class and / or the closure of a school or part of it?

    If a pupil and / or worker tests positive for COVID-19, the Prevention Department will evaluate the possibility of prescribing quarantine to all students of the same class and to any exposed school staff that is configured as close contact. The closure of a school or part of it must be evaluated by the Prevention Department of the ASL.

All the Faqs published by the Ministry of Education.

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This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/riapertura-scuole-test-casi-sospetti-e-lavoratori-fragili-ecco-le-regole-del-ministero/ on Thu, 03 Sep 2020 05:10:38 +0000.