Report: Preschool and kindergarten SOPs 'will not survive the first period of the first hour'

PETALING JAYA (June 18): The Covid-19 standard operating procedure (SOP) preventive measures for preschools and kindergartens will be very hard to maintain over long periods, Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy told FMT today.

“How do you ensure that young children in preschool adhere to social distancing rules? Will every object touched by a child be disinfected?

“The reality is that any protocol relating to Covid-19 prevention and control in preschools, kindergartens and primary schools will not survive the first period of the first hour of the first day of school,” CEO Azrul Mohd Khalib told the news portal in an interview.

He said the behaviour of young children, “especially those in preschool”, would make following any SOP “a herculean task” for teachers and administrators.

Consultant paediatrician Dr Azam Mohd Nor from Pantai Hospital also told FMT that “it would be more challenging for younger children to adhere to SOPs such as social distancing”.

He said parents and school administrators will have to monitor children closely.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) said in a statement to the portal that even though it is “confident that the relevant ministries would have assessed the safety levels of reopening preschools and kindergartens”, teachers and staff “might need to find creative ways to get children to adapt to their new school environment”.

MMA president Dr N Ganabaskaran added “they also had a great responsibility to ensure they did not bring infections to schools”.

Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced on Monday that preschools and kindergartens would be allowed to operate from July 1 but SOPs have still yet to be announced.

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