Alert Level 2 is “Our safer normal, not a return to business as usual.” Early learning services and schools are open for all children and students to attend and it is safe to do so. Schools should focus on:

• enabling good hygiene practices
• ensuring people with COVID-19 symptoms stay away
• maintaining physical distancing where practicable
• keeping track of people that enter your school
  

General health and safety

For schools, physical distancing at Alert Level 2 means: if you can smell the person’s breath or feel that you are in that “moist breath” zone, move a little further away. Avoid touching others and for adults, it is recommended that where practicable you keep a meter distance between you. Where practicable ensure that children and young people regularly wash and dry hands, cough and sneeze into their elbow, and try to avoid touching their face. Shared supplies and equipment are able to be used if students and staff are undertaking regular hand washing and staying away if sick.COVID-19 is not measles or chickenpox, it doesn't hang in the air for hours waiting to infect passers-by. It travels on invisible drops of spit. You don't have to cross the street to avoid anyone. Just avoid getting in their 'moist breath' zone.COVID-19is a weak virus, and even simple soap and water is more than enough to kill it. Keep it simple and frequent: a quick twice-daily wipe down of a doorknob is worth more than countless weekly 'deep cleans'. Ask kids to sanitise their hands upon entering and exiting your classroom. More importantly, model this behaviour yourself. Make hand hygiene a habit -more than being scared of runners passing by, touching groceries, or standing in queues at the supermarket, we should be afraid of our own hands.

Emergency procedures

Fire alarms and other emergencies may require you to either evacuate your buildings or move everyone inside. The priority in these situations is keeping students and staff safe from the threat arising through the emergency event –fire, flood, earthquake etc. Encouraging good cough/sneeze etiquette and no touching of hands to faces can be reinforced once safely evacuated or safely inside.

All existing emergency procedures will be followed. Where it is sensible to do so, staff and students should practice physical distancing while evacuating and while gathering in assembly areas such as Mansfield Park or the Hobson Complex

Probable or existing COVID-19 cases

Schools connected to a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19 must close on an individual or group basis for 72 hours to allow contact tracing and cleaning. They could be closed for a further 14 days (but open for distance learning)–you will work with public health units to manage this and the direction to close will come from the Medical Officer of Health. Stringent self-isolation of those who display relevant symptoms of COVID-19, test positive for COVID-19, have been in close contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19, or have been overseas in the last 14 days – Ministry of Health information for self-isolation.

In the event that a case of COVID-19 is confirmed in the school community, QMC will follow directions from the Ministry of Health. Those who have travelled abroad, display symptoms of COVID-19, or have been in contact with someone suspected of COVID-19 should contact Healthline for free on 0800 358 5453, inform the school, and self-isolate their family for 14 days.

What does this mean at QMC?

1. Our priority is the health, safety and wellbeing of the QMC community.
2. We are committed to following all guidance to minimise any risks of infection and ensure QMC is a safe place.
3. It is our expectation that, apart from those who are sick, all students and staff will continue to come to school.
4. All lessons, sport, and cultural activities can continue but with additional hand hygiene, physical distancing and contact tracing measures in place to keep everyone safe.
5. We all have a shared responsibility to practice good hand hygiene, physical distancing, and contact tracing.
6. People should stay home if they are sick.

The key principles are good hand hygiene, physical distancing, contact tracing, and to stay home if you are sick. All normal school activities can happen if they can incorporate these four principles. The following guidance will be communicated to the whole community and placed in every classroom.

There are simple things you can do to help protect yourself and each other:

• Don’t come to school if you are sick.
• Try to stay at arm’s length from other people, and don’t hug them.
• Cough or sneeze into your elbow.
• Don’t touch your face with your hands.
• Do not share your own things with others, like food, phones, laptops, headphones, calculators, and pens.
• If you use any playground equipment or need to share anything for sport or in class, you should wash your hands both before and after with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and then dry them.
• Masks are not needed in school but are required on public transport and should be worn in other public places where physical distancing is not possible.