Parents and pupils queue for PCR tests as Abu Dhabi schools prepare to reopen

All pupils must have a Covid-19 negative result from a test taken no more than 96 hours before entering campuses

• 

  Back-to-school PCR testing gets under way at Biogenix Labs by G42 Healthcare, Masdar City, Abu Dhabi. All Photos: Victor Besa / The National

• 

  Biogenix Labs staff are ready and waiting for the mass testing as schools reopen in the capital.

• 

  Children queue to be tested.

• 

  Sultan Al Marzooqi, five, gets his back to school PCR test.

• 

  The Solitario family get their PCR tests.

• 

  Biogenix Labs staff are ready to help in the fight against Covid-19.

• 

  Sarah Ahmad, 17, is tested before heading back to school.

• 

  A father takes his daughter for testing.

• 

  The Aragon family get their PCR tests.

• 

  Khamis Al Balooshi, 10, waits for his turn.

• 

  The Williams family get their PCR tests.

• 

  The youngest Al Marzooqi family member is all smiles after his test.

• 

  Mohamed Al Zahri, eight, is swabbed.

Pupils and parents flocked for PCR tests in Abu Dhabi at the weekend after the government said in-person classes would resume in phases from Monday.

Long queues were reported at Biogenix testing centre in Masdar City after the announcement on Wednesday.

Pupils in government-run schools nationwide will return to in-person learning in phases, with the start date dependent on their year group.

First to return on January 24 will be kindergarten/foundation stage, grades 1-5/years 2-6 and grade 12/year 13, university students and anyone preparing for international exams.

Remote learning for grades 6-11/years 7-12 to continue until January 31, when all years return.

Private schools in Abu Dhabi will also begin a return to in-person lessons from January 24.

All pupils will require a PCR test, taken in the past 96 hours, to enter school buildings. Additional tests will be needed every two weeks.

Thousands of pupils in Sharjah have been studying from home since the start of the spring term.

The emirate’s private education regulator allowed schools to choose whether to resume in-person classes.

Several schools, such as Al Shola Schools Group, which includes Rosary Private School, Pace British School and Sharjah American International School, opted for distance learning in the third week of January after offering a hybrid model of in-person and online teaching for the first two weeks of term.

Many schools are now expected to resume face-to-face lessons for pupils.

In Dubai, many schools opened for in-person classes at the beginning of the second term.