• Assessment of the person may begin from a safe distance by calling out to the person and observing them for signs of normal breathing (whether the abdomen and chest are moving regularly).
• Programme designers should follow specific recommendations from the Global First Aid Reference Centre or local resuscitation council on how to safely provide CPR safely.
Education considerations
Context considerations
• Emphasise to learners that providing first aid should be prioritised over the risk of infection if they are helping someone in their household because previous exposure to them may reduce any additional risk of infection. Using PPE and physical distancing can greatly reduce the risks of transmission.
Learner considerations
• Ensure classroom-based first aid education complies with distancing advice. Learners should be able to maintain a two-metre (six-foot) distance between participants at all times.
• Ensure learners are advised they must wear appropriate PPE (e.g., a face mask and gloves) to enter the classroom and complete training.
• Communicate to learners that if they become ill or are unable to wear appropriate PPE, that they cannot be admitted into the session.
• Post information on the symptoms of the pandemic (as defined by public health) at entry points and ask visitors not to enter when experiencing any symptoms of illness.
• Consider foot-traffic flow into the entry of the building to ensure social distancing can be maintained – this can include markers for those standing outside the premises or where to stand within the premises.
• Consider that wearing PPE and keeping safe distance will cause additional stress on the learners and the facilitator alike. Try to mitigate this where possible (e.g. provide adequate breaks, ensure a comfortable room temperature).
Facilitation tips
• Spend extra time planning the session outline and how best to adapt the learning activities to the pandemic context.
• Provide easy and visible access to sanitisation stations near the classroom space. Sanitisation stations must include a space to wash hands with soap and water, paper towels (instead of cloth towels), or hand sanitiser with at least 70% volume of ethanol or 60% of other alcohol. See Hand hygiene.
• Thoroughly clean all non-disposable equipment and manikins used during the session before participant use. Clean the face, mouth, and chest plate of manikins. Please consult the manufacturer’s cleaning and disinfecting instructions.
• Assign any triangular bandages, blankets or other fabrics used to specific learners at the start of the session, for their use only and then wash them immediately at the end of each day of use.
• Clean and disinfect training materials (such as trainer auto-injectors or inhalers) using 70% volume of ethanol or 60% of other alcohol. Disinfect before and after each user has handled the item and also before storage.
• First aid manuals or booklets should be for single person use rather than shared between learners or used in multiple sessions. Alternatively, encourage learners to bring their own tablet to the session and access the digital version of a manual during the session.
• Be mindful of the other items used in the classroom (e.g., pens, trainer-defibrillators, floor mats, tables, chairs). Ensure any surfaces that may collect germs are regularly cleaned using a 70% volume of ethanol or 60% of other alcohol disinfecting wipe.
• Do not place contaminated training aids into the clean carrying bags as this creates contamination.
Bring a separate receptacle (e.g., garbage bag, laundry tub) to transport the contaminated training aids to the designated cleaning space.
• Have learners do their skills practise on manikins or other props rather than other learners. For the brief periods of the sessions that have CPR practice, it is understood and accepted that the mask will have to be lowered.
• Have learners reduce exposure by working with the same partners and groups for the entire class or course. Avoid mixing up groups and partners for activities.
Facilitation tools
• Be alert to advice from the Global First Aid Reference Centre which will provide relevant and up to date information. See guidance on resuming training during COVID-19.
• Use the Safe classroom checklist to check your education environment has mitigated risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Consider increasing the use of blended and online learning courses.
• Ensure every learner wears gloves during all skill practice and assessment scenarios.
• At a minimum, hand hygiene should be performed at the following times by all learners and the facilitator:
> Beginning and end of class
> Before and after meals and snacks
> Before and after skill practice sessions. (When wearing gloves, hand hygiene should be done before putting on gloves and after removing them.) See Hand hygiene for more on critical times for handwashing.
• Non-medical or surgical masks can become contaminated on the outside or when touched by your hands. When wearing a mask, facilitators and learners should take the following precautions:
> avoid touching your face mask while using it
> change the mask for a fresh one as soon as it becomes damp or soiled
> non-medical face masks that cannot be washed should be discarded and replaced as soon as they get damp, soiled, or crumpled.