Staff
All vaccinated and unvaccinated students under and over the age of 12 must undergo a PCR test every two weeks during the grace period
Abu Dhabi, 22 August, 2021: Unvaccinated students will be given a grace period of 30 days to get vaccinated from the first day of the academic year 2021-2022, beginning August 29, said a recent announcement by the UAE Government.
All vaccinated and unvaccinated students under and over the age of 12, must undergo a PCR test every two weeks during the grace period.
After the 30-day grace period, unvaccinated students aged 12 & above, will need to conduct weekly PCR tests and those below 12 will have to take 1 COVID-19 PCR test every month. All vaccinated students aged 12 and above will also have to take 1 COVID-19 PCR test every month.
The protocols will be circulated to all educational facilities across the country, said Dr. Farida Al Hosani, official spokesperson for the Health Sector at a media briefing. The protocol is aimed at national educational institutes that include nurseries, public and private schools, public and private higher education centres, child care centres, training centres and institutes.
Dr Al Hosani also stated that distance learning will be available to vaccinated & unvaccinated students of all ages.
She said that the protocol can be changed based on the situation in the country. “Health authorities are working on adding more age groups within those required to be vaccinated during the next phase after the completion of the necessary approvals,” Dr Al Hosani added.
Regarding transportation services, the announcement specified that transportation services will follow all safety measures and adhere to the total capacity approved by the concerned entities and penalties will be imposed if the rules are violated.
According to data released by the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA), 86% of the academic staff and 84% of the administrative staff have been vaccinated and the vaccination plan is ongoing in order to reach 100% vaccination rate.
