Coronavirus: UAE schools to close or reduce capacity if Covid-19 cases spike

Schools in the UAE will be made to operate at a reduced capacity or even close temporarily if Covid-19 cases surge, the Ministry of Education said.

Just days before pupils return to the classroom for the first time in months due to the pandemic on Sunday, the authority has issued extensive guidelines outlining its contingency plans if infection rates rise.

The series of protocols were released by the ministry on Wednesday.

They state that schools will halt in-class lessons and return to full-time distance learning if there is deemed to be an ‘extreme risk’ to safety.

The extreme risk level is reached when there are at least 36 cases per 100,000 population in seven days.

Thirty-six cases per 100,000 people would equate to roughly 3,600 infections in the UAE, which has a population close to 10 million.

The Ministry of Education has overall responsibility for all schools across the Emirates.

The directives include:

• Schools can operate as normal – with social distancing and the wearing of face masks – at a ‘low risk level’ of up to 5 cases per 100,000 population in seven days.
• A ‘moderate risk’ would require to schools to function at 50 per cent capacity and provide distance learning and homeschooling options to parents.
• At ‘high risk – when there are between 21 and 35 cases per 100,000 people – schools must scale back capacity to 15 per cent and allow only pupils whose parents are frontline workers or have no childcare options to attend physical classes.

The comprehensive procedures highlight potential infection hot spots in school facilities, such as classrooms and common areas and the possibility of transmission in crowded areas such as canteens and entrance and exit points.

School leaders are asked to be aware of the risk of infection for workers in shared rooms for “long periods of time” and to take account of pupils and staff at particular risk, such as those with chronic illnesses and teachers who are pregnant.

Schools are asked to consider the “transmission of the virus through food suppliers” due to the use of external sources and other contractors, which leads to a higher risk of infection.

The framework also reiterates that it is mandatory for all members of the school population aged 12 and over to take a Covid-19 test prior to the start of the academic year.

“[There must be] a distance of 1.5m between pupils in classrooms, laboratories and learning resources rooms, and a distance of 2m between pupils in other facilities of the educational establishments,” the guidelines state.

“The maximum number of pupils per classroom in schools is 15 pupils.”

Dates must be confirmed for sterilisation of premises, plastic barriers should be installed in areas where it is difficult to maintain a distance of two metres and younger pupils should be supervised and educated on the importance of washing their hands as a means of limiting the spread of infection.

The Ministry of Education protocols stress that no group activities, such as trips, sports or camping, can be held.

The ministry has offered parents the option of continuing distance learning for the first term of the school year.

But schools in the UAE say the majority of pupils will return for in person learning on Sunday.

“Parents have thought of the risk of a child not going to school and the social and emotional impact that would have,” said Simon Crane, headmaster at Brighton College Dubai, who confirmed that 95 per cent of pupils would be returning for in-person learning.

“I think parents are concerned their children are falling behind. They need human-to-human contact,” he said. “Distance learning was done at a good standard but cannot replicate human-to-human connection.”

© The National