Page 84 - Security Today, November/December 2020

"Preparedness involves having resources, relationships, plans and operations ready in the event of an incident."
By Soumi Eachempati
Managing COVID-19
New cloud-based access control platform designed to monitor and manage Covid-19 can help campuses stay open in these challenging times
Electronic Solutions
MikeDotta/Shutterstock.com
Schools and universities are faced with an extraordinary chal- lenge this fall. They need to create plans on preventing, iden- tifying and managing people with potential Covid-19 infec- tion and exposure while providing high-quality education. The task is magnified by having to perform all these tasks while protecting multiple generations of people with different risk factors for falling ill. Additionally, the schools have to defend all aspects of their COVID-19 strategies to concerned parents, teachers, administrators and the community. These issues need to be per- formed with budgets that were likely decreased from the economic effects of the pandemic.
Traditional, Modern Strategies
Knowledgeable schools have addressed these areas with a combina- tion of traditional and modern strategies. They introduced physical barriers like mask wearing, desk spacing and Plexiglas at important contact points of aerosol transmission. New specialized industrial cleaning solutions were used to clean. Extra handwashing and sani- tizer stations were placed throughout schools. Maintenance staff and other relevant people were given an abundance of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Other intriguing ideas were created to keep sick people out of schools. To disincentivise some from hiding symptoms of COVID-
32 campuslifesecurity.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020