Covid guidelines in Dubai schools revised

The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has revised guidelines for managing Covid-19 in educational institutions.

The guidelines apply to universities, schools, nurseries, early childhood centres and centres for special needs in Dubai.

From October 3, 2021, all teaching and learning in Dubai’s private schools will be in-person only. After this date, students who wish to continue with distance learning must provide a medical certificate issued by the DHA.

Dr Sawsan Al Nahas, acting head of School Health Section, DHA, said: “The guideline elaborates classification of low-, moderate- and high-risk transmission as well as all the mandatory measures the educational institution has to undertake based on the risk of infection".

The main updates include:

• All preventive precautions such as wearing a face mask, following hand hygiene etc. shall
continue.
• The physical distancing requirement for students is now one metre instead of two.
• The quarantine duration for a close contact has been reduced to seven days, irrespective of one’s
vaccination status. A PCR test is not required at the end of the quarantine period if the person is
symptom-free.
• Isolation period for a person who has Covid-19 continues to be 10 days.
• A clearance certificate — required after completion of isolation period for a positive case — will be
issued automatically. Students and staff may return to the educational institution after submitting
the certificate.