Covid-19 Guidelines at GZAAT

With the opening of the schools, came a list of guidelines that students and teachers need to follow for everyone’s safety. GZAAT is no exception - rules are enforced strictly, and students and teachers are protected to the best of capabilities.

First and foremost, everyone should wear a mask over their mouth and nose. Masks are strictly regulated and it is not allowed to take them off or put them down to your chin. A simple surgical mask and an N95 are the most widely used ones. Reusable, cloth masks are only allowed if the person is wearing a surgical mask underneath.

Temperatures of students who travel by the school bus are measured before they get on the bus. When they enter the school grounds, in the opening doors their hands are cleaned by a hand sanitizer. After they enter the hallway, no one is allowed to go through the school without a thermal scanner taking their temperature. If the person has a normal temperature, they are allowed to pass through.

A distance of two meters is recommended to be maintained to lessen the chances of transmitting the virus. To ensure this guideline is followed, the leather couches have been removed from the lounge areas, since students used to sit close to each other. These sitting lounges and chairs in the hallways have red dot stickers to show where exactly people are supposed to sit. The guideline also applies to the classrooms - where the students are supposed to sit on the places that are marked by the red dots.

When the lessons start, classrooms have several rules to follow. Before entering a classroom, all hands are again sprayed with hand sanitizer. Some students choose to keep their own hand sanitizers.

There are two options during the lesson - either to open the door and a window, or close the door and open two windows to at least 5 centimeters. It is no secret that ventilation helps slow the spread of COVID19. The fresh air moves out the COVID infected air, so keeping a door or a window open while inside could help tremendously. The classrooms at GZAAT are mandated to keep these regulations. This would’ve been more difficult during winter or fall because the cold would have bothered the people, but since spring is coming up and the sun is shining more often, a blow of fresh air is (by most people) welcome.

After the end of the lessons, people exit the building, and those who ride the bus get on. The enforcement of these rules is mandated strictly by teachers and the safety of GZAAT students and teachers is as safe as it can be.

The mask and distancing rules are no different to the rest of Georgia - and almost all world countries enforce a rule that tells people to protect themselves from the virus by masks and distancing. Keeping the mask over one’s nose and mouth is the bare minimum to protect yourself and others, along with a distance of two meters. Masks are not 100% effective, so it’s not enough to do just that. Distance between people helps the virus not to spread. All these regulations are realistic and something that can be done.

Mamuka, from the freshmen class of GZAAT, said that “it is crucial to understand that we have to cohabitate with the deadly virus and in order for our social life and education to not receive serious impact by this, we have to follow each and every single one of the regulations.”

Tako Akhobadze also adds that the regulations are “ things we should be doing to protect ourselves on a daily basis.”, which Irinka Mgebrishvili and Mariam Gurchumelia agree with.

The only thing that bothers Mamuka is the school bus. He said that sometimes when he travels by bus, “there have been some cases where people in the back seats were not wearing masks almost during the entire bus trip. Furthermore, sometimes it even happens that groups of 4-5 people talk with each other and in such situations, it is physically impossible to keep social distance rules in the bus.”

Tako says that the regulations on the bus are the same as inside the building, but sometimes they are a bit tougher to follow because of the smaller space. Mariam also has said that even in the hallways, it’s hard to keep the recommended two-meter distance because they’re crowded.

All four of them agree that the enforced rules are fair and much needed, as they protect the safety of the school and the people inside it. Irinka says that everything is closely controlled -” students' temperatures, the way people wear masks, and social distancing.” Mariam adds that these rules aren’t so hard to understand - the basics of it could be boiled down to “put on a mask and don’t hug your friends.”

Whether these guidelines are effective we have yet to see, but we can be sure that the school is doing everything to keep the students safe, healthy, and happy!

Edited by Liza Jariashvili