Latest: Which countries are vaccinating young children against Covid-19?
Pupils in the UAE will have a 30-day grace period to be inoculated against Covid-19 when schools reopen, before weekly PCR testing becomes mandatory for unvaccinated children over 12.
After the grace period, vaccinated pupils over 12 will be tested every month, as will schoolchildren between 3 and 12 who have not been inoculated.
It is part of amended Covid-19 regulations designed to ensure that wherever possible, pupils can have in-person lessons when the school year begins on August 29.
Saliva tests, rather than PCR swabs, have been used on younger children in recent months.
Dubai's private schools, which have their own school regulator, are not thought to be affected by the decision.
It is very important we prepare all pupils to attend classes face to face to ensure their education
Dr Farida Al Hosani
At a briefing on Sunday, Dr Farida Al Hosani, the federal government's health spokeswoman, urged “all children aged 3 to 17 to get the vaccine”.
She advised parents to arrange for their children to get vaccinated in the coming weeks.
“It is very important we prepare all pupils to attend classes face to face to ensure their education,” she said.
Despite that, Dr Al Hosani said distance learning remains an option for “all vaccinated and unvaccinated pupils".
The 30-day grace period would give families until the end of September for their children to get both shots. During that time, all unvaccinated pupils will undergo a test every two weeks.
China's Sinopharm vaccine was approved for use in children aged 3 to 17 in early August, following a trial that involved 900 young people in Abu Dhabi.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is available for over 12s.
Al Hosn app for school pupils
The National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority detailed the latest developments on Twitter on Sunday.
Parents were asked to download the Al Hosn testing app for their children to ensure schools can see proof of vaccination and regular testing.
The app has become central to Abu Dhabi's vaccine and testing regime, including the latest rules introduced on August 20, and has seen some use in airports and bars and clubs in other emirates.
Parents will be required to print out and present PCR and vaccination certificates, in addition to downloading the app.
Dr Al Hosani said a task force of inspectors will monitor the back-to-school process and testing and vaccine requirements. Schools are required to keep social distancing of one metre and to have an isolation room for suspected cases.
She further said 86 per cent of teachers were now vaccinated and that the government was “working to reach 100 per cent very soon”. About 73 per cent of the overall population is vaccinated, the most recent figures show.
Children and teachers will be required to sign a form stating that have not knowingly been in recent contact with someone with the virus.
Masks must to be worn in all public places, including classrooms and should only be removed when eating.
She thanked schools across the country and said staff and teachers were “heroes” who had ensured children had not fallen behind in the past 18 months.
“The experience of distance learning proved to be successful despite the pandemic,” she said.
“We extend our deepest thanks for all of the heroes working on the front lines of education ... and start the new academic year by stressing the importance of all of the achievements in the past year.”
In September 2020, schools in most of the emirates reopened. But many returned to distance learning, or a hybrid model, at various times throughout the year as individual cases were detected.
At the end of the term 2021, for example, about half of pupils in Dubai were back in class, the authorities said, with the remainder learning from home.
Following a flurry of vaccinations among young people late last term, schools hope the vast majority will return to face-to-face learning once again soon.
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Jonathan Gornall, Simon & Schuster
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
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Don’ts
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Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
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• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
- Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs
- Thursday 20 January: v England
- Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad:
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The specs: 2018 Maserati Levante S
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Engine: 3.0-litre V6
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Fuel economy, combined: 10.9L / 100km
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Sri Lanka squad for tri-nation series
Angelo Mathews (c), Upul Tharanga, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Janith Perera, Thisara Perera, Asela Gunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Dushmantha Chameera, Shehan Madushanka, Akila Dananjaya, Lakshan Sandakan and Wanidu Hasaranga
