Schools said they are ready to return in September, but anticipate significant changes to the school day and more learning from home. Pawan Singh / The National
Schools said they are ready to return in September, but anticipate significant changes to the school day and more learning from home. Pawan Singh / The National
Schools said they are ready to return in September, but anticipate significant changes to the school day and more learning from home. Pawan Singh / The National
Schools said they are ready to return in September, but anticipate significant changes to the school day and more learning from home. Pawan Singh / The National

Dubai school disinfects campus after pupil tests positive for Covid-19


Anam Rizvi
  • English
  • Arabic

The Indian High School in Oud Metha has assured parents and said sanitisation work has been carried out after a 16-year-old pupil contracted the virus.

The child was infected by her parent who had travelled overseas.

Dozens of pupils at the school were tested for coronavirus last Thursday after the case was reported.

A thorough deep clean has been done and the school is following proper health and safety precautions

Concerned parents and teachers told The National they were worried whether stricter measures such as home isolation for two weeks were required for pupils who had been in contact with the teenager.

As a precaution, all three schools run by the Indian High School Group closed a day early on March 5, though spring break commenced at UAE's schools and universities on March 8.

"A thorough deep clean and disinfecting has been done and the school is following proper health and safety precautions as instructed by the Ministry of Health and Prevention, Dubai Municipality and Dubai Health Authority. All necessary measures have been taken to ensure the safety of our students and staff," the school said in a statement.

"With a lot being said about the epidemic – Coronavirus or Covid-19, we understand your family members and you may have concerns and queries about the safety of your child.

“We assure you that [our] schools are following all the necessary health and safety precautions instructed by the relevant authorities.

“We have taken all the necessary measures to ensure safety of all."

The school cancelled all exams scheduled from March 5, to avoid panic among pupils and parents.

“We took this necessary step to ensure no one feels vulnerable about misleading messages circulating on social media,” it said.

Board examinations for grade 10 and 12 have not been cancelled and would go ahead as scheduled.

No re-examinations will be conducted as internal examinations have been cancelled.

Pupils will be graded and promoted on a pro rata basis.

Their portfolio, and performance in assessments and enrichment activities, will also be assessed.

After the case of the Indian High School, a 17-year-old male Emirati pupil, who showed no symptoms, also tested positive for Covid-19 on March 6.

It is not known which school the pupil goes to.

Schools and universities across the country have been closed for a month from March 8 as part of efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Spring break, which was due to begin on March 29, will instead begin on March 8 and last two weeks.

Distance learning has been introduced during the remaining two weeks, with pupils learning from home.

Government schools will run a home-teaching programme called Learn from Afar from March 22 to April 5.

  • Muslim worshippers circumambulate the sacred Kaaba in Mecca's Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest site. Saudi Arabia reopened the area around the Kaaba. AFP
    Muslim worshippers circumambulate the sacred Kaaba in Mecca's Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest site. Saudi Arabia reopened the area around the Kaaba. AFP
  • Empty stands during the Saudi Professional League soccer match between Al Hilal and Al Ettifaq at King Saud University Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has suspended public attendance of sports competitions over the coronavirus. EPA
    Empty stands during the Saudi Professional League soccer match between Al Hilal and Al Ettifaq at King Saud University Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has suspended public attendance of sports competitions over the coronavirus. EPA
  • A man wearing a protective mask passes by the Colosseum in Rome. AFP
    A man wearing a protective mask passes by the Colosseum in Rome. AFP
  • A civil defence worker disinfects a window in the Ashar district of Iraq's southern city of Basra. AFP
    A civil defence worker disinfects a window in the Ashar district of Iraq's southern city of Basra. AFP
  • A civil defence worker disinfects a replica of the Lion of Babylon statue in Iraq's southern city of Basra. AFP
    A civil defence worker disinfects a replica of the Lion of Babylon statue in Iraq's southern city of Basra. AFP
  • A civil defence worker disinfects a shrine in the Ashar district of Iraq's southern city of Basra. AFP
    A civil defence worker disinfects a shrine in the Ashar district of Iraq's southern city of Basra. AFP
  • A municipal worker sprays disinfectant in the old market in Erbil, the capital of the northern Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region, as a precautionary measure against the spread of the novel coronavirus. AFP
    A municipal worker sprays disinfectant in the old market in Erbil, the capital of the northern Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region, as a precautionary measure against the spread of the novel coronavirus. AFP
  • Palestinian volunteers prepare supplies to deliver to a hotel under quarantine in the West Bank city of Bethlehem a day after a lockdown on the city was announced. AFP
    Palestinian volunteers prepare supplies to deliver to a hotel under quarantine in the West Bank city of Bethlehem a day after a lockdown on the city was announced. AFP
  • The closed gate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency school in Gaza city. The Palestinian government in Ramallah announced a one-month emergency in response to fears of the spread of Covid-19. EPA
    The closed gate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency school in Gaza city. The Palestinian government in Ramallah announced a one-month emergency in response to fears of the spread of Covid-19. EPA
  • A Palestinian girl wearing a protective mask waits as her relatives chat on a street in the West Bank city of Hebron amid fears of the spread of the novel coronavirus. AFP
    A Palestinian girl wearing a protective mask waits as her relatives chat on a street in the West Bank city of Hebron amid fears of the spread of the novel coronavirus. AFP
  • Maronite priest Majdi Allawi holds the Blessed Sacrament as he blesses Lebanon from an aircraft as protection from disease. AFP
    Maronite priest Majdi Allawi holds the Blessed Sacrament as he blesses Lebanon from an aircraft as protection from disease. AFP
  • Members of the Palestinian security forces wearing protective masks stand guard during a football match without fans, amid fears of the spread of the novel coronavirus, in the West Bank city of Hebron. AFP
    Members of the Palestinian security forces wearing protective masks stand guard during a football match without fans, amid fears of the spread of the novel coronavirus, in the West Bank city of Hebron. AFP
  • Rescue workers at the site where a hotel being used for coronavirus quarantine collapsed in the south-east Chinese port city of Quanzhou, Fujian province. Reuters
    Rescue workers at the site where a hotel being used for coronavirus quarantine collapsed in the south-east Chinese port city of Quanzhou, Fujian province. Reuters
  • The Osaka Grand Sumo Tournament opens without spectators amid the coronavirus outbreak, in western Japan. EPA
    The Osaka Grand Sumo Tournament opens without spectators amid the coronavirus outbreak, in western Japan. EPA
  • A view of a thermal scanning checkpoint manned by security personnel at the entrance to Gardens by the Bay's Cloud Forest in Singapore. Reuters
    A view of a thermal scanning checkpoint manned by security personnel at the entrance to Gardens by the Bay's Cloud Forest in Singapore. Reuters
  • Medical staff members wearing protective gear carry a patient infected with the Covid-19 coronavirus at a hospital in Seoul, South Korea AFP
    Medical staff members wearing protective gear carry a patient infected with the Covid-19 coronavirus at a hospital in Seoul, South Korea AFP
  • A doctor comforts a pregnant woman infected with coronavirus at an isolation ward in Xiehe Hospital in Wuhan, China. AFP
    A doctor comforts a pregnant woman infected with coronavirus at an isolation ward in Xiehe Hospital in Wuhan, China. AFP
  • An immigration officer checks a woman's temperature at Francisco Paula Santander International Bridge, in Cucuta, Colombia, at the border with Venezuela. AFP
    An immigration officer checks a woman's temperature at Francisco Paula Santander International Bridge, in Cucuta, Colombia, at the border with Venezuela. AFP
  • A woman walks inside an isolated area on Truc Bach street in Hanoi. AFP
    A woman walks inside an isolated area on Truc Bach street in Hanoi. AFP

Private schools have set up their own distance-learning programmes or expanded existing e-learning tools such as Google Classroom, ClassDojo and Seesaw, to cover the school day.

A "sterilisation programme" for all educational facilities will be carried out in all schools, buses and universities during the break, as per the directives of the Ministry of Education in the UAE.