School re-opened this week in Guinea. Liberia has targeted for February. This is a big milestone in the whole Ebola crisis to be celebrated. Happy new year for students and parents alike.
Schools must have practical procedures in place, including hand washing stations around the school, daily temperature taking with no-contact thermometers, an isolation area set aside for anyone with illness symptoms until they can be safely moved, and ongoing contact with health authorities. Liberia Gov’t Ebola protocol for reopening schools.
Sierra Leone needs to get their new Ebola cases at or near zero before they can re-open schools. Principal Kaimbay in Rotifunk said it’s more practical to re-open schools in the provinces as compared to Freetown & the bigger cities. They typically have fewer students and more room in classrooms to keep students observing “no touch.”
Hopefully, this day is not too far off. The Ministry of Health’s daily Ebola case report had only 7 new cases for January 20th from only 3 of 14 reporting districts!
January 19 NPR story: School’s Back on in Guinea: Reading, Writing, Temperature Taking
Sherbro Foundation 
I agree, Mohamed, best to have schools across the country reopen at the same time. Let’s hope 2 months is sufficient for the Western area and Port Loko to come under control so kids can go back to school in April. No one has said what will happen come July when schools normally close for the summer. Will they continue to catch up?? Arlene
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