Ministry of Education and Science Manual on School Operation and Testing with regard to covid-19

The Manual of the Ministry of Education and Science is based on the parts concerning hygiene and
anti-epidemic measures from the recommendations of the Ministry of Health.

Below you will find the most important information; the full manual is available HERE. The aim of the Ministry of Education and our school is to enable full-time teaching to the greatest extent possible.

1) Basic hygiene rules

All students are required to follow basic hygiene rules:

• mouth and nose protection (respirator, e.g. FFP2, CN 95)respirator/nano-muff) - all pupils are obliged to cover their respiratory tract when entering the school building and common areas (cloakrooms, corridors, etc.); pupils who have been tested negative, vaccinated and pupils who have had covid (valid for 180 days after confirmation of the disease) do not have to wear a respirator/nano-muff in the classroom; students who do not undergo testing and do not fall under any of the exemptions (vaccinations, covid) are required to wear a respirator/muff at all times while at school (for further restrictions, see Screening Testing in September 2021)
• cough and sneeze preferably into a disposable handkerchief and throw it away immediately and wash your hands afterwards,
• Pupils with symptoms of infectious disease cannot enter the school building; pupils showing signs of acute illness will be sent home from school (full age pupils go home immediately, underage pupils - unless they have the consent of a legal guardian to go home - wait in the isolation room until the arrival of the legal guardian); these pupils wear mouth and nose protection at all times while in the school building; a pupil with persistent symptoms of an infectious disease that are a manifestation of a chronic illness, including allergic disease (rhinitis, cough), is allowed to enter school only if he/she proves that he/she is not suffering from an infectious disease (certificate from a general practitioner),
• as soon as possible after arrival in the building wash your hands with soap and water (20 to 30 seconds), if necessary, carry out hand disinfection, and subsequently observe hand hygiene throughout their stay at school,
• frequent and intensive ventilation of classrooms,
• emphasis is also placed on hand washing in the school canteen (especially before taking food); in the school canteen, boarders must be seated with a distance of at least 1.5 metres between them, except for those seated at one table (no more than 6 boarders per table),
• Pupils returning from countries with a high, very high or extreme risk of infection and who are not covered by one of the specified exceptions (for vaccinated persons, for persons with a history of covid-19 disease, etc.) are obliged to report to the Czech Republic after entering the country no earlier than 5. They must undergo an RT-PCR test on the 5th day, or on the 10th day in the case of return from countries at extreme risk of infection, but no later than the 14th day; they must remain in self-isolation until the result of the RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 is available.

2) Screening testing in September 2021

In order to prevent the spread of covid-19 with the entry into schools, the following will be implemented at the beginning of full-time education in the new school year 2021/2022 Universal preventive testing of pupils, with 3 antigen tests in the first two weeks of September 2021 (1, 6 and 9 September). They will be distributed to schools non-invasive antigen tests for self-sampling (so-called rapid antigen tests - RAT). 

All persons present shall wear properly fitted respirators or respirators throughout the collection process, except for a short interval when the test subject performs self-collection.

Based on the results obtained from the testing, a decision will be made on how to proceed. A fourth and further test will be carried out if the testing reveals a local outbreak. Testing in this case will continue until the end of September with a frequency of once a week.

Students who meet the conditions for infection-free status after vaccination (14 days after fully completed vaccination) or after having had covid-19 disease (for 180 days after the first positive test for covid-19), or a student who provides evidence of a negative test result at the sampling site, will not be tested.

If a pupil does not undergo screening testing, he or she will be able to attend full-time classes, but under the conditions set by an emergency measure of the Ministry of Health (must wear a respirator/muff in indoor areas and outdoor areas if it is not possible to maintain a 1.5 metre separation; must not exercise indoors; must change clothes at a distance from other persons and must not use the showers; must not sing; must sit at a bench or table when consuming food and drink and must maintain a minimum separation of 1.5 metres from other persons). If a pupil refuses both testing and the wearing of a protective device, the school cannot allow the pupil to attend in person and is not obliged to provide distance education to such a pupil in accordance with the emergency measure of the Ministry of Health.

If a student is not present for testing at the beginning of the school day, he/she will be tested immediately after arriving at school (until 9:30 in the former driving school classroom in the school yard, after 9:30 in the secretariat).

3) Positive antigen test

If the test result is positive, the tested student is sent to the isolation room and awaits the arrival of the legal guardian or leaves the school directly (if the student is an adult or if the minor has the consent of the legal guardian to leave on his/her own). In case a pupil accommodated in a school educational and accommodation facility tests positive, the subsequent procedure is handled by the local regional sanitary station. (Contact to the South Bohemian KHS: marie.noskova@khscb.cz).

The school will issue a certificate to the person who tested positive or the legal guardian stating that he or she tested positive. The pupil or the pupil's legal guardian is obliged to inform his/her general practitioner of the positive test and the general practitioner is obliged to decide on the indication for confirmatory RT-PCR examination and to fill in the electronic application form for this examination.

A student with a positive test result may return to full-time education either after submitting a negative confirmatory RT-PCR test or after completing mandatory isolation (a certificate of termination of isolation is issued by a general practitioner).

A pupil who has been in the same classroom with a pupil who has tested positive in the previous 2 days shall not be allowed to be present in person at school until the confirmatory RT-PCR test result of the pupil with the positive preventive antigen test result is known. In practice, the AG tests will only be for the 9 September test as the requirement that the pupils have been together in the previous 2 days will not be met for the first test and the 6 September test. This provision does not apply to properly vaccinated pupils and pupils who have contracted covid-19 and are in the protection period.

In the event that the confirmatory RT-PCR test does not confirm infection in a positive AG test subject, the person shall immediately submit the result to the school, which shall further inform the originally indicated contacts. All persons concerned may return to full-time teaching.

In the event that a confirmatory RT-PCR test confirms infection in an AG test positive student, the student's legal guardian or the student is required to notify the school immediately. The school shall then promptly send the name of the positive pupil and a list of pupils who may have been infected to the appropriate county health station. The KHS shall follow the emergency measure of the Ministry of Health on ordering isolation and quarantine.

4) Distance learning

If, as a result of emergency measures or quarantine orders, more than half of the pupils in at least one class are prevented from attending school in person, the absent pupils will be placed on distance education for the duration of the situation. In other cases, the school is not obliged to provide distance education to absent pupils. The school shall follow the same procedure as for regular absences. It is recommended that distance learning support be provided to absent pupils, e.g. by sending materials, assignments or lesson plans for the period. Pupils are involved on a voluntary basis, taking into account their individual circumstances.

Our goal is to maintain full-time teaching, so we ask for strict adherence to these measures.