Vaccinated, Covid-recovered students exempted from weekly antigen test: ministry

The Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) has announced that vaccinated and Covid-recovered students are now exempted from the weekly rapid antigen test.

In a statement on Thursday, the ministry said such students need to produce the vaccination certificate proving that they have received two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine in the past nine months or a certificate of recovery from the student's health centre.

The ministry confirmed that weekly rapid antigen testing at home will continue for unvaccinated students. Testing devices will continue to be provided to government school students only through their schools, and the date of collection will be conveyed via text messages to parents.

The MoEHE noted that random tests at all educational levels, by health teams of the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), will continue.

The ministry also informed that physical education lessons will resume from next week, while extra-curricular school activities, including trips and others, can also be carried out in accordance with the precautionary measures followed.

The MoEHE said the decision has been taken based on co-ordination with the MoPH, and in light of the health indicators related to the pandemic and the ministry’s concern for the students’ interest and their academic future.

It also announced that schools will return to their pre-Covid-19 timings with all precautionary measures in place from Sunday.

The ministry called on parents and students to adhere to the precautionary measures in order to preserve their health.