Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- In accordance with the decision of the Special Republican Commission of Uzbekistan to Combat Coronavirus, in order to ensure all necessary safety measures for children’s health and create conditions for full compliance with sanitary and hygienic rules, state preschool educational organizations in “green” and “yellow” zones of the Republic of Uzbekistan will resume their activities from 1 August 2020. This process will be carried out in stages according to the schedule approved by the Ministry of Preschool Education.

The opening of state-run early childhood care institutions on 1 August 2020, and not on 15 June, as previously announced by the Special Republican Commission, is due to a number of measures that must be taken to ensure the safest for the health stay of children and employees in early childhood care after the resumption of their activities, including :

- providing more than 6,000 state-run public health facilities of the country with detergents, antiseptic and disinfectants in accordance with applicable sanitary standards and rules SanPiN 0355-18 “Sanitary and hygienic requirements for the maintenance, construction and operating mode of health facilities in the Republic of Uzbekistan”, as well as non-contact pyrometers and personal protective equipment;

- the procurement and delivery of food products in kindergartens, taking into account the fact that to prevent food spoilage, all food warehouses were released immediately after the suspension of kindergartens activities in March 2020;

- carrying out repair work at the beginning of the school year and landscaping their territories - in particular, landscaping and shaping of trees, taking into account the unsatisfactory condition of individual green spaces, as well as putting the playgrounds in proper shape due to the absence of workers during the suspension of the activities of the early childhood education;

- carrying out measures for the disinfection and treatment of territories and buildings of kindergartens, checking readiness together with territorial centers of sanitary and epidemiological welfare;

- the implementation of systematic work to attract the necessary financial resources for the implementation of all preparatory measures for opening an early childhood education institution, given the suspension of funding during the quarantine period;

- creation of conditions for children and employees to return to the kindergartens to undergo a medical examination;

- resolving issues to reduce (with minimal inconvenience for the population and employees of pre-school children) the possible risks associated with visiting the kindergarten by children and involving employees living in the "red" zones.

The Ministry of Preschool Education once again recalls that it is guided primarily by the interests of children and the need to create a safe developing environment.

At present, the Ministry of Preschool Education is also conducting a study of the opinions of parents throughout the republic, the results of which have already identified cases of parents refusing to attend kindergarten in the current epidemiological situation. In this regard, the supervisory boards of the kindergartens, which includes the parents of the foster children, decide that there is no need to resume the activities of individual kindergartens when the full composition of the children refuse to attend these kindergartens during the pandemic.

It is known that a certain discontent among the population was caused by the fact that the resumption of the activities of private kindergartens, unlike state ones, by decision of the Special Republican Commission was allowed from 15 June 2020. This decision by the commission is due to the fact that in private kindergartens the number of pupils in groups is usually less, the number of groups is limited, i.e. there is not a large concentration of children, as well as the presence of the non-state sector more opportunities for the operational launch of activities in accordance with sanitary and epidemiological requirements.

At the same time, at the moment, the Ministry of Preschool Education and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Uzbekistan, with the support of the International Children’s Fund UNICEF, have developed and are at the stage of final approval of the draft Joint Resolution “On approval of the temporary provision on the organization of activities of preschool educational organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic”, according to which, on the basis of the minutes of the meeting No. 27 of the Special Republican Commission of Uzbekistan for the Control of Coronavirus dated June 2, 2020, the following were developed:

- a temporary provision on the organization of activities of early childhood education during the COVID-19 pandemic;

- the form of a letter of receipt of legal representatives of a pupil of a kindergarten;

- consumption rates of detergents and disinfectants in kindergartens;

- Morning filter log form.

Based on the rules specified in this resolution in state and non-state kindergartens:

- all employees should be familiarized with sanitary-hygienic, anti-epidemic rules and safety standards and trained by specialists of territorial centers of sanitary and epidemiological welfare;

- the resumption of the activities of the nursing institution is allowed only if there is a guarantee letter signed by the head of the nursing institution on ensuring the appropriate conditions for the safe stay of children, and the decision of the territorial center for sanitary and epidemiological well-being;

- for employees of pre-primary education, it is mandatory to wear medical masks, as well as maintaining social distance;

- preventive disinfection work should be regularly carried out on the territory of the early childhood care center;

- at elevated body temperature - with a body temperature above 37 ° C, as well as signs of ARI (sore throat, cough, malaise, etc.), attendance of a pre-primary care unit for employees and pupils is prohibited;

- upon detection of Covid-19 cases in the family, in a close circle of friends, do not bring the child to the orphanage, and immediately inform the orphanage;

- do not enter the territory of the kindergartens, leave the child at the entrance to the kindergartens to a responsible employee;

- in the event of a complication of the epidemiological situation in the area of the kindergarten location, its activity is suspended by the decision of the territorial centers of sanitary and epidemiological welfare.

The Ministry of Preschool Education asks to strictly follow all prescribed preventive measures and if you or your child detect symptoms of coronavirus, notify the management and staff of the early childhood care center and consult a doctor in order to ensure the safety of your health and not expose others to infection.