The KHDA has announcing a series of updates to the COVID rules for schools and nurseries in Dubai. Following the UAE-wide relaxation of COVID restrictions that came into effect on 26 February 2022 – most notably face masks no longer being mandatory outside – the KHDA has now refreshed the protocols for schools and nurseries to reflect the new updates. The confirmation clarifies some misreporting on Social Media that all rules have now been abandoned – something that we know is definitively not the case.
The following rules are now in place across Dubai private schools and nurseries and will continue for the foreseeable future as the KHDA seeks a balance of protection and releasing children from the Covid rules that are widely accepted to have impacted negatively on their education:
- Face masks are no longer required outdoors.
- Masks, however, remain compulsory indoors for all adults and children older than 6 years.
- Children or staff who are considered close contacts but do not show Covid symptoms are not required to isolate and can continue attending the centre.
- Children or staff who are considered close contacts and show Covid symptoms can only return to the centre when they are free of symptoms, even if they have a negative PCR test.
- Centres must continue to inform parents if their child is considered a close contact
- Both children and staff who test positive for Covid must still isolate for 10 days.
- Health and safety staff must continue with contact tracing
- Consistent and regular sanitsation procedures must continue to be followed
- Safety standards from relevant Dubai Government authorities (Municipality, DHA, etc) must continue to be followed.
The relaxation of rules follows the very significantly less dangerous omicron variation of Covid 19 currently dominant, but notably do not follow the approach of some other nations, including the UK, that have controversially removed all restrictions in schools.
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