UAE students returning from abroad subject to mandatory 14-day home quarantine

On Thursday, the Ministry of Education (MoE) had issued a circular mandating the need for medical examinations and a 14-day home quarantine for all students and staff returning to the UAE from abroad, reported official news agency WAM.

Read: UAE reports 15 new coronavirus cases, with total now at 45

The statement read: “In keeping with the recent instructions issued by the health authorities, all school staff and students returning from outside the UAE must complete the necessary medical examination and must undergo home quarantine for 14 days to ensure that they are healthy.”

The decision is applicable to both private and public schools.

وزارة التربية والتعليم: لن يُسمح للطلبة وكذلك العاملين في المنشآت التعليمية كافة (الحكومية والخاصة) والقادمين من السفر،من دخول المنشآت التعليمية قبل التأكد من خلوهم من المرض. #كورونا#فيروس_كورونا #كوفيد_19 #كوفيد19 #فيروس_كورونا_الجديد @mohapuae @NCEMAUAE pic.twitter.com/XuWAA9aPDT

— وزارة التربية (@MOEducationUAE) March 7, 2020

On Saturday, Dr Amna Al Dhahak, MoE’s assistant under-secretary for school activities affairs, said the ministry carried out a comprehensive programme to sterilise public and private schools and universities, adding that over 620 school buildings were completely sterlised, in addition to 6,000 school buses.

Read: UAE reports new coronavirus case after Emirati student tests positive

The ministry has announced that the spring break will extend for two weeks from March 8 until March 19, following which educational institutions will have to facilitate distance learning programmes for the next two weeks.

Dr Amna said that that more than 168,000 started to benefit from the pilot programme, while 23,000 students from the Higher Colleges of Technology, Zayed University and the UAE University, have completed the experimental programme.

On Friday, the Ministry of Health and Prevention stated that a 17-year-old Emirati students had tested positive for coronavirus Covid-19 in the UAE.

The UAE has recorded 15 new coronavirus cases, with the total number of infected individuals in the country now standing at 45.

It also announced that two more patients had recovered completely, taking the total number of people cured in the UAE to seven.