Growing concern over COVID-19 school spread

by Anesta Henry

Principal of Combermere School Joseph Maynard is concerned that the COVID-19-positive status of a student of The Ellerslie School could have repercussions for
other schoolchildren.

Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw announced on Sunday that the Black Rock, St Michael educational institution will be closed for two weeks because a student was among six members of a family who contracted the virus, and Maynard said this is a matter of concern, particularly since students of various
schools intermingle.

“They take the buses and they interact with each other once they leave the school environment. So it really is a concern. We are just hoping and praying that the situation is contained,” he said.

“But that is one of the reasons why we have to ask students to make sure that they understand the importance of . . . wearing their masks and that they observe the protocols as they have been established.

“There are protocols from the Ministry [of Education] but we also have our own protocols within the school. So it is important because just one slip and we can have an even greater problem on our hands.”

Maynard made the comments today, while speaking to the media, during the handing over of sanitiser/antibacterial soap dispenser units donated to Combermere by Consumers Guarantee Insurance (CGI) and facilitated by water engineering resource company Earth Smart.

The principal explained that the Waterford, St Michael school’s blended approach to teaching and learning has been working well, but noted that it is an undertaking that cannot be rushed.

“We have had to ease into it because I think everybody is a bit apprehensive about the report of the COVID-19 case among the students, but it has been working
out quite well.

“We have been making sure that students are safe and if they are not face-to-face, they are online so they don’t miss any classes,” he said.

Maynard, who thanked the sponsors of the dispenser units, said the items will help the school deal with the challenges of operating in a COVID-19 environment.

“We appreciate this donation because it helps to encourage the students and certainly will help the teachers who initially would have had to use hand sanitising bottles and so on to spray the students. Now, with this it is really going to alleviate some of those challenges,” he said.

Marketing Manager of CGI Ann Barrow said the company was pleased to play its role in keeping the community healthy and safe as it recognises, now more than ever,
that schools are faced with new challenges in the current environment.

“We sponsored a total of 14 units at Combermere School, along with the protective cases and an initial supply of product,” Barrow said.

Public Relations Officer (PRO) for Earth Smart, Denaye Hinds, said the company launched the programme to place touchless dispenser units in schools to help curb the spread of COVID-19.

Hinds said the dispensers are placed in strategic points throughout the school to help reduce and eliminate teachers having to stand and physically sanitise students.

She said while the units can hold either sanitiser or antibacterial soap, Earth Smart is also offering an online component to the programme to teach students about COVID-19 and how to keep safe.

“In light of this 15-year-old contracting COVID-19, we think that now, more than ever, it’s imperative to have tools like these and programmes like the Earth Smart School Hygiene Programme in our schools to help safeguard our children against the spread of COVID-19 and to enforce safe and healthy practices throughout our schools,” she said.

Hinds added that Earth Smart has also placed the units in Graydon Sealy Secondary and Springer Memorial School.

The PRO called on the business community and government departments to get on board and offer sponsorship so that dispensers can
be placed in additional schools.

Last week president of the Association of Public Primary Schools Principals, Dr Hyacinth Harris, bemoaned the fact that Government had been slow in providing grants to purchase essential items to keep the school plants in effective operation mode in the current COVID-19 environment.

Harris, who is principal of St Bartholomew Primary School explained that the schools had received limited supplies of alcohol and masks for students and staff, and that other resources most of the schools had been asking for had not as yet been provided.

anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb