DUBAI: All students in the UAE can attend classes regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination status, the spokesman for the country’s education sector announced on Tuesday.
Speaking ahead of the new academic year in which over one million students and 65,000 teaching staff will return to education, Hazza Al-Mansouri said that university students who are unvaccinated for medical reasons and those with vaccination exemptions can present the PCR tests required for the country’s green pass system on the Al Hosn app to enter universities.
“Checking the temperatures of students and employees is no longer necessary, provided that anyone with a high temperature does not attend classes, goes on sick leave, and gets tested to ensure that they do not have COVID-19. Social distancing inside facilities is also no longer mandatory but has been left to the discretion of each facility, including on buses,” Al-Mansouri said.
Students aged 12 and over, teaching and administrative staff, and services providers must provide a negative test result from a PCR test conducted within 96 hours on the first day of school. However, regular testing was not required, he added.
Wearing face masks remains mandatory inside closed areas, and e-learning and remote work options for students and staff who have COVID-19 or those suffering from respiratory system symptoms is now allowed, the spokesman said.
“The UAE community must help protect the country’s achievements and promote the principle of self-responsibility among students,” he said, urging parents and teaching staff to adhere to all preventive measures and raise awareness among students about them, he said.