Education provision across the UAE will not be stopped by the global coronavirus pandemic, according to leading figures in the country.
The industry was forced to implement home learning from March until the end of the last academic year as part of government plans to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
At the regular media briefing on Tuesday, Dr. Omar Abdulrahman Al Hammadi, official spokesman for the UAE Government, revealed that 1,025 schools (82.86 percent) around the country are operating under the remote learning system, while 212 schools have implemented “in-person” learning (17.14 percent).
A tweet from NCEMA said: “Our leadership has confirmed that education is continuing and will not stop, thanks to the infrastructure readiness of educational institutions and the investments in technology to ensure continuity of learning under strict precautionary measures.”
Al Hammadi explained that the number of school students taking part in the in-class learning system is 201,797, or 17.28 percent of the total number of student population in the country.
It was also revealed on Tuesday that there have been over 10 million Covid-19 tests conducted in the UAE – more that the entire population of the country.
Al Hammadi said that, between September 30 and October 6, some 720,802 tests had been carried out across the country, an eight percent increase over the previous week.
He said the testing resulted in a 16 percent increase in confirmed infections (7,704 cases), with the rate of positive tests accounting for one percent of the total.
He also noted that, over the period, recoveries increased by 23 percent compared to the previous week, numbering 8,018 while adding that the number of deaths increased to 19, a rise of 73 percent compared to the previous week.
Providing an update on the current vaccine situation, he stressed that the volunteers taking part in the current coronavirus trial should adhere to relevant preventive procedures, including wearing facemasks and maintaining social distancing.
”Taking the trial vaccine doesn’t necessarily means a person is far from infection of the virus,” he explained.
He stressed that after taking the second dose of the vaccine, volunteers will need a period of up to four weeks to enhance their immunity, adding that even after this period, their immune systems will only protect them, not other people and their families and colleagues. ”Therefore, it is essential for them to continue adhering to the precautionary measures,” he added.
Al Hammadi advised the volunteers and other people to continue adhering to the precautionary measures to protect everyone’s health and safety.
© Arabian Business
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