MoPH Makes COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Tests Compulsory in Schools

Covid-19 rapid test

The Ministry of Education and Higher Education has been instructed to make sure the school pupils along with teachers and staff are provided with self-test kits starting from Sunday, August 7th.

Qatar calls for stricter measures to control the Covid 19 outbreak in educational institutions. Rapid antigen tests of Coronavirus have been obligated by Primary Health Care Corporation for teachers and students operating in government-funded schools.

The decision was incorporated by the School Health Program in line with the policies of the Ministry of Public Health to eliminate the grappling contagious variants of the said virus which could possibly be proliferating among school administration and pupils.

As per instructed in a circular, all beginning the new academic year of 2022-2023 must undergo a WHO-approved Rapid Antigen Examination in the convenience of their home. Self-test kits are made available at the school-affiliated health centers which can be availed a maximum of 48 hours before the start of school hours.

Rapid test kits utilize an alternate component to identify contamination and the probability of spreading COVID-19. They are fairly valuable tools for offering quick results in 10-15 minutes in the comfort of one’s home. The Ministry of Education and Higher Education has been instructed to make sure the school pupils along with teachers and staff are provided with self-test kits starting from Sunday, August 7th.

Primary Health Care Corporation released the weekly status report starting from August 1st till 7th, 2022 according to which the daily average cases showcased a decline and the death toll remains at 681. The total number of doses administrated since the start of the vaccine campaign is 7,339,048 while booster shots remain at 1,836,078. The Ministry of Public Health made sure to accredit more than 100 hospitals and clinics across Qatar to provide Covid testing. The daily average number of tests is 21,571 and approximately 3,780,729 people have been tested so far. Qatar was one of the nations that made early prudent moves and took preventive measures along with precautionary actions to battle the virus.  The total number of positive Covid-19 cases recorded in Qatar till now is 415,129 among which only 6,217 is the total number of active cases. 408,231 cases have been reported as recovered while 109 patients are still hospitalized in hopes of a speedy recovery.