The Delhi government has issued fresh guidelines for schools under which no student or staff will be allowed entry into school premises without thermal scanning and if any of them tests Covid positive, the institute’s authorities must take appropriate quarantine measures.

The guidelines were issued in the wake of a rise in Covid cases in the city.

Schools have also been advised to ask students to not share lunch and stationery items.

Parents should be advised to not send their ward to school if the child or any member in the family tests positive or shows Covid symptoms, the guidelines say.

“If a student as well as staff member displays any Covid symptoms, they should be moved away from other people into an outdoor ventilated space or quarantine room,” the standard operating procedure states.

“Teachers are also directed to report to the principal immediately if any student in the class is found with Covid symptoms. The same must be reported to zonal and district authorities and the school may close specific wing temporarily or the area may be cordoned off,” it stated.

All entry and exit gates of school buildings should be used to avoid crowding at the time of entry and exit of students, the SOP added.

“Help of volunteers may be taken to avoid crowding and maintaining of Covid-appropriate behaviour. No student and staff should be allowed to enter premises without thermal scanning,” the SOP said.

Principals have been advised to hold a meeting with parents as well as school management committees to review compliance of Covid protocols and discuss other confidence-boosting measures.

Reports of infections from schools have triggered concerns weeks after they opened for offline classes following a two-year gap due to the pandemic.

Experts have been warning against the closure of schools yet again, citing learning losses.

Schools across Delhi-NCR have sprung into action following a spike in Covid cases and are taking various measures, including frequent sanitisation, to restrict the spread of the virus to a minimum and thus avoid shutdown of the campus.

The Haryana education department has directed schools in the state not to make it mandatory for students to attend physical classes at a time scores of students and staff members in institutes across NCR cities have been diagnosed with Covid-19.

The Delhi government had last week issued guidelines for schools asking them to close specific wings or classrooms wherever any student or teacher is found infected.