COVID-19 Guideline for Boarding Assistant

The following guidelines should be followed by administrators, facility staff, boarders, and university/college students living in residence.

General Guidance

■ Staff and administrators should consult current public health advice and orders on COVID-19, and revise or adjust procedures and protocols as required.

■ Facilities should undertake a facility-specific risk assessment, analysis, and mitigation process and develop a site-specific risk management plan. These plans should consider scenarios with individual or multiple COVID-19 cases among both boarders/students and staff.

Plan details should consider the following:

■ Procedures to deal with boarders/students who become ill, or those who require self-isolation due to travel or other exposure.

■ Accommodations and sleeping arrangements.

■ Use of indoor/outdoor recreation areas.

■ Use of common areas, including study rooms, kitchen, laundry areas, and other ancillary areas or group settings.

■ Catering and mealtime processes.

■ Necessity for off-campus visits.

■ COVID-19 education and training for both staff and students (i.e., infection prevention and control, disease symptoms).

■ Enhanced/frequent cleaning and disinfection for washroom facilities, kitchen areas, and high-touch surfaces.

■ Control of entry/exit to facilities, including a process to track visitors. (if allowed)

■ Boarders/students, teachers, and other staff who are at higher risk of more severe COVID-19 illness.

■ Mental health of boarders/students.

■ Parents/guardians and boarders/students should agree to the terms of the risk plan before attending the facility.

■ Identify a dedicated staff member(s) to communicate and coordinate with local public health authorities in the event of an outbreak.

■ Establish daily processes to screen staff, teachers, boarders, students, and visitors using the online screening tool or screening posters.

■ Boarders/students who are ill should isolate in their room, even if they only have mild symptoms, and then notify staff or appropriate residence authorities. Boarding school staff and university/college students should also contact Boarding Ajarn for more information immediately.

■ Consider restricting guest/visitor access to facilities.

■ Develop plans for symptomatic boarders/students.

■ Ill boarders/students should be isolated from others in an individual room with their own washroom. Facilities must have a plan in place to isolate ill individuals if there are shared accommodations/washrooms.

■ Ill boarders/students should limit social contact and only leave their room for medical care. When doing so, they should wear a medical mask (if unavailable, a non-medical mask may be worn).

■ Staff providing care/support for isolating boarders should have access to appropriate protective personal equipment (PPE) (i.e., medical masks and gloves) and attempt to maintain a distance of two meters from ill boarders.

■ Consideration should be given for boarders/students to return home for the period of isolation where possible. In situations where there are no individual rooms to isolate and returning home is not an option, boarding school staff should consult with Principal for more information and to discuss alternative isolation accommodations.

■ Encourage boarders/students with symptoms to get tested. If results are negative for COVID-19, they can stop isolating 24 hours after their symptoms end. However, if they choose not to be tested, they should isolate for 14 days from the start of their symptoms. Provided their symptoms have ended at day 14, they can stop isolating.

■ Establish policies for accommodating boarders/students who require a period of self-isolation due to travel or exposure to COVID-19 cases.

■ If self-isolation is accommodated on campus, boarders/students should have their own room/washroom and follow the above guidelines for those who are ill.

■ Develop accommodations for boarders/students at higher risk of serious illness.

■ Limit teachers and staff in boarding facilities/residences to only those who are essential for the task.