Wash hands frequently, avoid all gatherings

The government has asked all students of secondary schools and colleges to wash their hands frequently and avoid any kind of gathering as preventive measures to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country.

Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) yesterday issued a directive in this regard as the country's first coronavirus cases were detected on Sunday.

"We have issued the directive for all secondary schools, colleges and offices under the directorate," Professor Syed Md Golam Faruk, director general at the DSHE, told The Daily Star.

The directive asked students to thoroughly clean their hands with soap and water and not to touch eyes, nose and mouth with unclean hands. 

It also asked students to avoid mingling with persons infected with the virus, cover mouth and nose with a bent elbow or tissue paper while coughing or sneezing. 

Meanwhile, many guardians have stopped sending their children to the schools while authorities of many schools instructed guardians to keep their children at home if they feel feverish or were suffering from a cough or cold.

While talking to The Daily Star, many guardians have requested the government to shut the schools as a precautionary measure to prevent the virus spread.

Dhanmondi's Nalonda High School guardians said that school authorities at a Facebook group urged them not to send their children to keep at their home if the student was facing fever, cough and any kind of respiratory problems. 

Authorities of William Carey International School Bangladesh of West Rajabazar also issued similar directives to the guardians.

A guardian of a student at Birshreshtha Munshi Abdur Rouf Public College said he was not sending his two children to the school after learning that coronavirus had struck Bangladesh.   

Rokshana Yesmin Tithi, a guardian of a student at Saint Francis Xavier's Girls' School & College in Old Dhaka, said the government should close all schools for 15 days. 

"The government of Jammu and Kashmir has shut down all primary schools as two confirmed coronavirus cases were reported. Dhaka is more densely populated than Jammu," she said.

Opposition BNP also demanded that all the schools be shut down for two weeks. 

"We think all school-college, educational institutions should be shut down immediately at least for two weeks. Next steps can be taken after observing the situation," BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said yesterday while addressing a press conference at the party's Nayapaltan headquarters.

"No such situation has arisen yet that we have to close down schools and colleges. But everyone should avoid mass gatherings," Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research Director Meerjady Sabrina Flora said yesterday.

Education Minister Dipu Moni on Monday said that government will decide on closure of schools after consulting with specialists.  

Several Indian states have closed down all schools as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the virus.

UNESCO said as of March 9, 29 countries in three continents have announced or implemented school closures. Fifteen countries have shut schools nationwide, impacting almost 305 million children and youths.

The countries are Azerbaijan, Bahrain, China, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mongolia, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

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A screenshot of a report published on The Daily Star in 2018 was circulated on social media yesterday, claiming that the government instructed schools and colleges to stay closed. 

The story, titled "Schools, colleges shut tomorrow: Ministry" was published on August 1, 2018, as part of our reporting on the road safety movement at the time.

Mohammad Abul Khair, public relations officer at the Education Ministry, confirmed last evening that the ministry had not taken any such decision.

"A quarter with vested interest are circulating these rumours," he said, adding that people are being requested not to believe such rumours.