Dr. Abdullatif Al Khal, Chair of the National Strategic Group on COVID-19 and Head of the Infectious Diseases Division at Hamad Medical Corporation, said that out of more than 350,000 students and over 35,000 teachers in Qatar less than 0.2 percent have tested positive since schools reopened.
He was addressing a joint press conference by Ministries of Public Health and Education and Higher Education to discuss the latest developments related to the Coronavirus and back to school.
Key Points
Both here in Qatar and around the world children continue to be at very low risk of serious symptoms.
Since students returned to classrooms on 1st September,a number of positive cases have been reported in both students and teachers in schools.
Our track and trace teams have found that these positive cases did not catch the virus when attending schools-they caught the virus mainly at home during social gatherings.
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While any new case among children is of concern it is important that we consider the big picture and review the data as a whole.
In nearly two weeks since students returned to school, we have identified a small number of positive cases among children and teachers. While any new case among children is of concern, it is important that we put this into context.
Out of more than 350,000 students and over 35,000 teachers in Qatar, less than 0.2 percent have tested positive since schools reopened.
The phased approach to reopening public places is working well. As we have seen with the return to malls, mosques, workplaces and offices, if people adhere to the preventive measures and follow the official advice, we can safety return to normal life.
The same is true for the opening of schools as long as people adhere to the preventive measures the risk of contracting COVID is very small.
All preventive measures are in place to keep children safe while at school.
