CMC:
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is recommending that countries in the region adopt a phased approach to reopening schools for face-to-face learning in the 2021-22 academic year in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
PAHO Director Dr. Carissa Etienne says this approach should take into consideration the local epidemiological situation, which she notes “can change rapidly”.
“Surveillance will be key to ensuring that reopening is done safely and that the learning environment remains safe,” she said during PAHO’s COVID-19 virtual briefing on Wednesday.
Etienne said prior to reopening schools, countries must ensure that institutions can maintain COVID-19 prevention- and infection-control measures, including physical distancing, hand hygiene, and mask-wearing.
Noting that there is COVID-19 community transmission “in almost every country”, the PAHO director emphasized that “what we do not want is for schools to be transformed into catalysts for more [of this]”.
She pointed out that closing and reopening schools should be considered part of the physical-distancing measures that national and parochial authorities are constantly adjusting, depending on the epidemiological situation and the local response capacity.
Etienne maintained that schools “must remain healthy settings for living, learning, and working” while adding that safe and accessible transportation to and from institutions for children and adolescents is also an important consideration.
The PAHO director said the region of the Americas continues to be the epicenter of the pandemic, noting that to date, more than two million people have died and over 82 million cases reported.
Consequently, she said that more than 101 million children across Latin America and the Caribbean have been hit harder by school closures than their peers in any other region.
Etienne noted that PAHO has developed guidelines for reopening schools, “and we are working with our member states so that this can be achieved as safely as possible”.
She contended that reopening schools “is and should be a priority for governments”, among other stakeholders.
“But ultimately, the safest way to reopen schools rests on countries’ abilities to suppress transmission through vaccination and the implementation of public health measures. This is the only way that we can fully protect children, teachers, parents, and the community,” Etienne added.