A child shouldn’t be allowed to be the centre of attention of fellow students nor should he be emotionally affected while handling a suspected Covid-19 case in a school, say psychologists.
“A child should be treated emotionally and with friendly talk in the event of any sign of Covid-19 symptoms like sneezing or fever inside the school premises. These steps should be primary before taking the student for isolation,” says Dr Amira al Raidan, Head of the Mental Health Department at the Non-Communicable Diseases Department of the Ministry of Health.
“By isolation I mean the student needs to be observed in case he has any Covid-19 symptoms before taking any other action,” adds Dr Amira.
Any sign of coughing or feeling feverish can be the symptoms of seasonal flu or otherwise, but the emotional trauma that the students undergo due to mishandling of the same would have repercussions that can even affect their studies, according to experts.
“If a child coughs or expresses uneasiness, the situation needs to be handled carefully. First of all, without letting other students know about it, the child should be counselled in a positive manner. The student should be kept in observation for a few hours before the next course of action,” says Dr Benny Varghese Paduvan, psychologist.
“Children who are now in schools were cocooned in the comfort of their homes for nearly two years. It takes time to acclimatise with the new normal and school surroundings. They deserve their ego to be protected and their personality unaffected. Here the role of schools becomes crucial,” he said.
To encourage children to observe all Covid-19 precautions, everyone in school should wear a face mask, maintain physical distancing, wash hands and stay home when feeling sick. These steps are augmented with good ventilation, screening, and contact tracing in a school community.
On the other hand, a diagnostic test should be carried out when any child has Covid-19 symptoms or recent known or suspected exposure to the virus.
In the case of any chronic, high-risk medical conditions, a child may need extra accommodation to stay safe. Consulting the parents and paediatrician is also recommended by the psychologists.
The return to offline schooling is considered even tougher for students with disabilities. They may still have a hard time transitioning to in-school learning and missed instruction time.
“They may not have had any or less access to school-based services such as occupational, physical and speech-language therapy or mental health support counselling. In such cases, the school should review the needs of each child and provide these services to make them emotionally strong,” adds Dr Benny who is also the Vice-Principal of The Village School.
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