Sharjah announces 10-day quarantine for pupils and school staff returning from abroad
Sharjah pupils and school staff returning from abroad must self-isolate for 10 days before resuming in-person lessons.
Sharjah Private Education Authority said the date of arrival in the Emirates would be considered the first day of the quarantine period.
Schools are required to update the travel details of staff members on a daily education operations report, known as Tamam, as part of Covid-19 safety measures.
“We inform you of the mandatory application of a quarantine period of 10 days for all staff and pupils who chose the direct education option and are coming from travel,” the emirate’s private education regulator told schools.
PCR tests are also mandatory for all staff as well as pupils aged 12 and over, with some schools offering to test pupils free of charge. Some private schools in the emirate resumed in-person classes on Sunday after the spring break, while others will welcome pupils back to classrooms on Sunday, April 18.
For some pupils, it will mark a return to in-person lessons for the first time in more than two months.
Sharjah authorities suspended face-to-face lessons at private schools and nurseries on February 14 because of a rise in Covid-19 cases at the time.
The switch to remote learning was initially due to last for two weeks, before being extended until the end of the spring term.
Parents have been given the choice of a blended learning model or online learning.
In blended learning, pupils attend classes in person on certain days and study online on other days. Staff and pupils
have adapted to the rise of remote learning since the start of the outbreak.
Schools across the country closed their doors in March of
last year to control the spread of Covid-19. Many pupils were permitted to go back to school for the start of the new school year at the end of August.