THE Department of Health & Wellness is providing guidance on ways parents and guardians can help to reduce a child’s risk of infection from the possible threat of the coronavirus.
Director of Bureau of Health Education Natasha Lloyd-Felix encourages parents to ensure their children practice good hygiene in order to prevent the spread of germs.
“We are encouraging parents to have their children wash their hands thoroughly from home so that when they are in a school environment, environments of play or in places where the parent may not be present that habit has already been developed. Parents we ask you please when your children are at home, model hand washing; you need to show your child how to hand wash by you doing it yourself. What we have noted to be an area of importance is the duration that is given for hand washing. One way of helping your child is by singing the alphabets song to your child. That actually gives the period of 20 secs that is required to have enough time to thoroughly hand wash. Ensure that your child gets the palms covered, ensure that your child is able to go between the fingers, under the nails, the back of the hands to allow a thorough hand washing.
Lloyd-Felix also spoke on the best approach for infection prevention in schools.
“If per chance you notice your child is unwell, we are now in the flu season and the cold season, we ask you to keep your child at home as a way of protecting both your child and other children at school. Because, by being in the presence of others, the chances of spreading disease, spreading germs, spreading the infections increases. We note that sometimes parents feel that they have nowhere to place their child/children but we ask you please to consider a plan that in the event the child/children were to become ill, and it may not necessarily be from corona if it was present in Saint Lucia, it may be the flu, that child can be safely placed there to avoid him or her being in a school environment,” Lloyd-Felix said.
Principals and teachers of schools around the island are encouraged to ensure that hand sanitizers are readily available and also classroom surfaces are cleaned and disinfected on a daily basis.