BENGALURU: As schools prepare to reopen, Karnataka Associated Managements of Schools (KAMS) has issued a fresh advisory urging all private educational institutions to stay vigilant in light of alerts over emerging Covid-19 variants and other viral infections.An updated SOP by the association of private schools followed a death due to Covid-19 in the city Saturday.

The circular emphasises that while there is no reason to panic, schools must act with responsibility and reinforce hygiene and safety protocols. The advisory outlines a series of updated measures to be implemented before and during school reopening to ensure the safety of students, staff and their families. A key directive is the enforcement of a health-based attendance policy. Students showing symptoms of fever, cough, cold, rashes or allergies should not be sent to school, and parents are advised to seek medical attention immediately.“The health of all children is a priority over attendance records,” the advisory stated.Schools are also instructed to conduct thorough sanitisation and promote awareness on hygiene. Teachers and staff are urged to educate children about hand washing, respiratory etiquette, and the importance of clean, ventilated classrooms.In case a child falls sick during school hours, schools must isolate the student in a supervised space and inform the parents without delay. The advisory further reminds stakeholders to avoid spreading panic or unverified news about Covid-19, urging reliance on official updates from health authorities.KAMS general secretary Shashi Kumar D told TOI, “We haven’t got any guidelines from the govt so far. These are guidelines we from the association have shared with all our schools as a social responsibility to take precautionary measures. Considering the rain and how kids can be vulnerable to infections, we don’t want schools and parents to panic.”“As of now, these are very general measures and other measures like social distancing and masks are not really needed…in such cases, schools will be informed later on the same,” he said in a video.