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Tribune News Network
Doha
The Ministry of Public Health will soon introduce in schools a non-invasive saliva test that avoids the need for intrusive nasal swabs to test coronavirus, Hamad General Hospital Medical Director Dr Yousef Al Maslamani has said.
The new testing method is a significant departure from the standard and often painful nasopharyngeal swab, which remains the most common method of detecting COVID-19.
All schoolchildren will be tested, Dr Maslamani emphasized as he sought to dispel parents’ fears about sending their children to schools in an interview with Qatar Radio on Sunday.
Going to schools does not expose the students or the staff to additional risks of contracting the coronavirus because the rate of COVID-19 infection in schools is lower than that among the general public, he pointed out.
Dr Maslamani said the decision to close some classrooms and schools should not raise parents’ concerns. Instead, they should feel reassured that strict measures are in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in schools in Qatar, he added.
Doha
The Ministry of Public Health will soon introduce in schools a non-invasive saliva test that avoids the need for intrusive nasal swabs to test coronavirus, Hamad General Hospital Medical Director Dr Yousef Al Maslamani has said.
The new testing method is a significant departure from the standard and often painful nasopharyngeal swab, which remains the most common method of detecting COVID-19.
All schoolchildren will be tested, Dr Maslamani emphasized as he sought to dispel parents’ fears about sending their children to schools in an interview with Qatar Radio on Sunday.
Going to schools does not expose the students or the staff to additional risks of contracting the coronavirus because the rate of COVID-19 infection in schools is lower than that among the general public, he pointed out.
Dr Maslamani said the decision to close some classrooms and schools should not raise parents’ concerns. Instead, they should feel reassured that strict measures are in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in schools in Qatar, he added.
