Preschool groups will open Monday: A new order has been approved and some children will have to stay home.

This means that the education of children can be organized not only remotely, but also in institutions. It is important that in order to guarantee a safe environment for both children and staff of institutions, it will be mandatory to comply with the established requirements for the prevention of the spread of infection, reports the Ministry of Health.

To this end, the Minister of Health, Aurelijus Veryga, Head of State Emergency Operations at the state level, approved the necessary conditions for the organization of preschool and preschool early childhood education.

Children with chronic illnesses or living with people at risk are expected to continue to be encouraged to receive homeschooling. Furthermore, even if the child is healthy, it will not be compulsory to allow him to attend an educational institution; parents will be able to continue caring for him at home.
Institutions that implement preschool and preschool education programs, when organizing their work, must meet the established requirements:

• follow the principle of group isolation as much as possible: children visit the same group regularly, group activities are carried out in such a way as to avoid contact between children visiting different groups both indoors and outdoors; contact between employees working in different groups is limited if it is impossible to avoid it, contact time is limited, a safe distance is maintained;

• children are fed in the group facilities. If such conditions do not exist and are eaten in the common room, only a group of children can eat in it at a time according to a pre-established schedule, and after each group, the room is ventilated and cleaned. Buffet meals, where food is provided by the children themselves, are not organized;

• ensure that joint activities are not organized for various groups of children;

• It is recommended that educational support professionals work remotely. If contact counseling is organized, it should be provided individually or only with children from the same group at a time. Physical contact should be avoided during the consultation, and frequently touched surfaces should be ventilated and cleaned after each consultation;

• to ensure that there is a possibility of hand disinfection near entrances to facilities, melted children should wear nasal and oral covers;

• An assessment of the health status of all children admitted to the institution is guaranteed. Children who develop fever (37.3 degrees and above) who show signs of acute upper respiratory tract infections (such as a runny nose, cough, shortness of breath) or other signs cannot enter kindergarten;

• staff admitting children to the institution must wear protective equipment that covers the nose and mouth;

• ensure that only personnel without signs of acute respiratory and other communicable diseases are employed. Upon arrival at work, your temperature is measured;

• employees belonging to the risk group do not work directly with children; Working for self-isolated employees is prohibited, except for those who work remotely;

• Adequate conditions for hand and child hygiene are ensured (hot and cold water is provided in the sinks, liquid soap is supplied to the sinks);

• sinks and other sanitary facilities used by various groups of children are disinfected each time a child uses them;

• The educational facilities are ventilated before the arrival of the children and at least twice a day.

We remind you that all schools – primary, progymnasium, gymnasium and vocational training institutions – remain closed until the Government decides otherwise.