Security personnel and the SMD Department at the Yew Chung International School of Beijing have been working tirelessly since the beginning of the lockdown to ensure that the campus follows international standards endorsed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that will guarantee the safety and health of students and staff alike once the school reopens. Since the lockdown, Delia Wang, Head of SMD and her department have been preparing our campus by performing daily disinfections, purchasing relevant equipment and, in the past week, by seeking professional services from a certified company in Beijing which will see to the thorough decontamination of all areas of our campus such as the Auditorium, Playground A, Learning Communities and Libraries to name a few.

According to the WHO, one of the most rudimentary steps to follow in preventing COVID-19 in the workplace is to “Make sure your workplaces are clean and hygienic”  this can be done by ensuring that “surfaces (e.g. desks and tables) and objects (e.g. telephones, keyboards) are wiped with disinfectant regularly”,  which is why Miss Wang and her team have intensified this process.In addition to objects and surfaces, human contact also plays a significant role in the spread of COVID-19, hence the decision to continue remote work for a majority of our staff, whilst putting plans of actions for when everyone return to campus. According to Sandy Li, YCIS Beijing’s Head of Human Resources, “Staff will need to provide their whereabouts and health codes in advance to seek approval before entering the school. When on campus, security guards will check if they are on the daily staff on campus list which will be provided by HR. Additionally, security guards will check the health codes and temperatures in morning and noon. If anyone would’ve been found unwell, they will have to report it immediately.”

Since the announcement of the lockdown, our SMD Department with the support of our Senior Leadership Team have been committed to the preparation of campus for reopening, and now almost three months later, the staff is also doing the same. According to Lynne Huang, Senior School Office Officer, “after working from home for two months, I am looking forward to going back to school [when she returns]. I miss campus, my lovely colleagues, my familiar and friendly office.”, and “I have prepared masks and gloves. Apart from that, we are required to get health code with photo ready to show to the security.”.

For Miss Huang’s colleague, Carol Li, she has decided to use an alternative way to get to campus once the lockdown is over. “In order to avoid contact with many people, I will ride bike to school for about 40mins”  a trip that will count as her form of exercise each day.

With a few people back at work in Beijing, it is important that we collectively take precautionary measures for our safety and that of others. To find out more about how you can workplace ready during COVID-19, click here for some tips from WHO.