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Abu Dhabi starts Covid-19 tests for teachers ahead of school reopening

Abu Dhabi - All students aged 12 and older will also be screened for the virus.

Abu Dhabi has started conducting Covid-19 tests for more than 15,000 private school teachers and staff in the Capital, ahead of school reopening. By the end of this week, this mandatory screening for all 205 private schools shall be completed, education authorities have said.
The Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (Adek) said they will be shouldering all costs for these Covid-19 tests, so the teaching staff won't have to pay anything. The process is carried out in cooperation with Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (Seha), said Amer Al Hammadi, undersecretary of Adek.
All students aged 12 and older will also be screened for the virus, and the department is currently developing a mechanism for these screenings. Details and schedules shall be announced in the coming days.
Adek had earlier announced the reopening of private schools from August 30, with strict safety measures laid out. Besides the mandatory tests for the school community, face masks will also be mandatory, along with daily temperature checks. Social distancing norms should be maintained at all times.
Private schools in the Capital can opt for one of five reopening models, Adek said on Sunday. These include: full in-class (face-to-face) learning with students going to school every day; partial in-class learning with students going to school daily for reduced number of hours; alternating days model; alternating weeks model; and hybrid model. Parents can also opt for 100 per cent e-learning in the first term, subject to coordination with schools.
ismail@khaleejtimes.com