Schools need to ensure that students maintain social distance and abide by Covid-19 precautionary measures when they start to work in full strength from Sunday, cautioned Dr Abdullatif al-Khal, chair of the National Strategic Group on Covid-19 and head of the Infectious Diseases Division at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC).
“Students from the first grade and above along with school staff should maintain the distance of one metre and wear masks,” he told Qatar TV on Thursday. He said the rate of vaccination among teachers and other staff has crossed 90% while the vaccination rate for students aged 12 and above reached 71%. “This will contribute to limiting infection and the spread of the virus in schools,” he explained.
“Students aged 12 years and over who didn’t receive the vaccine or didn’t complete the two doses will be tested on a weekly basis. This will be done in co-ordination with the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) inside schools,” he said.
The MoPH will continue to detect any infection early by conducting a random examination inside schools and trace contacts and apply quarantine if necessary.
Dr al-Khal noted that Qatar has witnessed a noticeable decrease in the daily infection cases in the past few weeks as well as a decrease in cases requiring hospitalisation. The National Programme for Vaccination has proven its success and effectiveness in limiting the spread of the virus.
