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The General Directorate of Health is preparing a manual to support educational establishments to act on suspected or confirmed cases of covid-19, in order to control “panic” and “the tendency to close.” the whole school. “
During the covid-19 pandemic, intervention in schools, which will reopen in two weeks, must be “focused and targeted and not expanded to the entire school to safely and minimally interrupt the school year,” he explained this Monday. the general director of Health, Graça Freitas, at the fair.
To this end, a document is being drawn up on how to intervene in a suspicious case and facilitate communication between the school, the tutors and the health services.
“There is no panic or tendency to close an entire school” is the central theme of the document, which, according to Graça Freitas, will be released on September 7, approximately one week before the start of the school year, which is scheduled to begin between the days September 14 and 14. September 17.
Next week, the meetings between specialists, political leaders and social partners of Infarmed will return on the evolution of the covid-19 pandemic and that day it will be possible to know some of the guidelines.
“At the next Infarmed meeting, it will already be possible to give some indications” to the schools, revealed the director general during the DGS press conference to take stock of the epidemiological situation in Portugal.
Likewise, the Secretary of State for Health, António Lacerda Sales, highlighted the importance of the manual that will make the connection between the local health authorities and the group directors and that “it will be very useful to know what to do in each situation and what to do. in the knowledge of all concerned, namely parents and teachers. “
Asked about the fact that the document arrives after the opening of the private education establishments, which begin to operate this week, António Sales recalled that there are a series of guidelines for the new school year “that have already been issued.”
This Monday, the prime minister recalled that the end of the holidays and the return to work and face-to-face classes increases the risk of contagion.
The secretary of state also recognized that “greater mobility always increases risk.”
“We are more prepared,” said, however, the head of the Ministry of Health.
Regarding the increase in cases registered in recent times, Graça Freitas guaranteed that they were as expected and that “the numbers are stable”: “There was a slight increase, but it is a controlled increase,” he guaranteed.
During the summer, an increase in cases was expected, due to family reunification and greater movement of people, which was confirmed by the appearance of outbreaks between family nuclei.
“As they are from the same family, they think they have an invisible shield that protects them, but that is not the case,” said Graças Freitas, despite thanking the population for the attitude that “in general” they have complied with the rules. physical distance and label. respiratory.
Portugal represents at least 1,822 deaths associated with covid-19 in 58,012 confirmed cases of infection, according to the latest bulletin from the Directorate General of Health (DGS).
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