100% in-person classes at all educational facilities across UAE from January: Official

Enad El Din Khalil, Staff Reporter

Hazza Ibrahim Al Mansouri, spokesman of the education sector said during the media briefing on Tuesday that the protocol applied to fight the pandemic of corona is updated in regard with the educational establishments, and that these updates will be put into effect as of the beginning of the second semester.

The new protocol includes the return of 100% in-person classes in all educational facilities, with the necessary adhere to all preventive and precautionary measures.

According to the new updates, school buses will also run on 100% capacity and it will be mandatory for all to wear masks inside the bus, besides the good ventilation.

Concerning the university hostels, Mansouri affirmed that the vaccine is mandatory to enter the university hostels, and for those who are medically excepted must provide a negative result of PCR test weekly.

Mansouri stressed the necessity to apply the medical test, based on the protocol approved to run the educational facilities during the pandemic, as well as the necessity to leave the safe social spacing distance.

For educational activities, the protocol allows parents to attend these activities, with adherence to the preventive procedures, including the green pass or a negative PCR test, not exceeding 96 hours, and the necessity to wear the face mask.

Mansouri affirmed that all educational facilities across the country will be monitored  by the authorities, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, to ensure that precautionary and preventive procedures are applied.

Mansouri praised all efforts made by administrative and academic cadres of the educational facilities to apply all procedures to ensure the health and safety of all inside these facilities.

He also stressed that the UAE is witnessing a significant decrease in the COVID-19 infections and deaths thanks to the performance of the health sector and the efforts made to raise community immunity through the provision of vaccine to all segments of the society.