Protecting student health during COVID-19 U.S. Government to support 120 schools

• The health rooms promote Ministry of Education  recommendations to ensure basic precautionary measures against COVID-19  and will include beds, mattresses, first aid kits, portable screens and  water dispensers

The United States, in coordination with Zonal and Provincial Education and Health Services authorities, is setting up health rooms at  120 schools around the country, an initiative to support the health and  well-being of thousands of Sri Lankan students, a statement from the US  embassy said. 

The State said the health rooms promote Ministry of Education  recommendations to ensure basic precautionary measures against COVID-19  and will include beds, mattresses, first aid kits, portable screens and  water dispensers.  The rooms enable isolation and related care for students if needed. 
 Located in Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaithivu, Vavuniya, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Ampara, Anuradhapura, Kandy, Moneragala and Gampaha, the health rooms  will promote the well-being of students even after the COVID-19 pandemic  ends.  Students will be able to have their vision checked and access  other health services.  The health rooms were supported  through the U.S. Government’s development agency, the United States  Agency for International Development (USAID).   

“For more than 50 years, the United States’ global health programmes have saved lives, protected people most vulnerable to disease,  and promoted stable communities,” said U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Alaina B. Teplitz.  “We’re helping reduce the spread of COVID-19 by supporting health  authorities in their isolation of suspected cases and by promoting the  overall health of students in rural areas of Sri Lanka.”   

The  United States is helping Sri Lanka combat COVID-19 by preparing  laboratory systems, activating case-finding and  event-based surveillance and supporting technical experts for response  and preparedness. The health rooms are part of more than $6 million in  COVID-19 assistance the United States has provided to Sri Lanka.  

• The health rooms are part of more than $6 million in  COVID-19 assistance the United States has provided to Sri Lanka