Managing Emerging and Infectious Diseases

Guidelines and Implementation Plan

To ensure continuity of K-12 basic education, schools must continue to provide a safe and
motivating environment. As such there is a need to adopt a disaster risk reduction and management
approach that is holistic, comprehensive, integrated, proactive and participative in schools and other
learning centers thus, the creation of MEID (Managing Emerging and Infectious Disease) TASK FORCE.

A. Objectives:

This aims to:

1. direct, adopt, coordinate and implement guidelines to prevent and / or minimize exposure of
learners to risk from emerging and infectious diseases in all the school.
2. ensure education continuity by protecting the well-being of learners and teaching and non-
teaching personnel.

B. Composition
1. School Heads must chair the Task Force who will have 4 members.
2. Suggested members of the TF are the following:
a. Guidance Counselors/Guidance Designate
b. Nurse/Nurse Designate/ School Clinic in-charge
c. Wash in Schools Coordinator
d. School DRRM Coordinator

C. General Roles and Responsibilities of Task Force MEID

1. Prepare and activate a School Contingency Response Plan on emerging and infectious diseases
(MEID).
2. Coordinate with LGUs, Division SHN (School Health and Nutrition) personnel on matters
relating to emerging and infectious diseases.
3. Share accurate information and establish effective and efficient referral system.
4. Monitor closely the health status of the school populace, conduct health information and
dissemination, intensify health education lectures with emphasis on personal hygiene, cough
etiquette, proper use of mask, consumption of nutritious foods, environmental sanitation,
prevention and mitigation of emerging and infectious diseases among others.
5. Operationalize the Preventive Alert System in Schools (PASS)
6. Coordinate with Barangay Chairman and the Division Office for class
suspensions in case of overwhelming incidents of other
emerging and infectious diseases where the school is located.

D. Specific Areas and Corresponding Response Measures of Task Force MEID:

AREAS Response Measures

Information, Education,  Develop IEC (Information Education Campaign) and
Communication and Capacity advocacy materials on infectious diseases prevention and
Building precautionary measures.
 Disseminate IEC materials online, in various social media
platforms
 Print and disseminate IEC materials to households without
internet /online.
 Conduct trainings for teaching and non- teaching
personnel, students on effects of natural and human –
induced hazards, epidemiological characteristics of
infectious diseases.
Health and Nutrition  Develop online health materials to foster wellness
 Provide psychosocial support to teaching-non-teaching
personnel and students
 Enforce protective measures such as wearing of mask,
handwashing, use of sanitizers/alcohol to ensure the
containment of harmful virus and bacteria,
 Continue school feeding program
 Develop IEC materials to complement and reinforce
health and nutrition programs
 Provide health assessment to learners and teaching and
non-teaching personnel
 Provide hygiene kits and medical supplements
 Ensure that foods in the canteen are healthy and nutritious
 Ensure enforcement of policies on health and nutrition
(e.g. smoke-free schools, tobacco control and others.
WASH in Schools (WinS) program.
 Monitor health issues of learners and teaching and non-
teaching personnel
Safe Learning Environment  Disinfect classrooms and other school facilities
 Repair/ rehabilitate facilities to ensure proper ventilation
 Prepare schools for other natural and human-induced
hazards (prune trees, repair faulty wirings etc.
 Assess and validate inventory of the WASH facilities and
water source requirements of the schools.
 Provide handwashing facilities in schools and with
adequate water supply
 Provide potable water supply