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QNA
Doha
The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has announced plans to introduce saliva-based COVID-19 tests for children from Sunday, September 20, as part of a national testing programme to gain a better understanding of infection rates.
The MoPH will work in collaboration with Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) to carry out tests for all students in both government and private schools in Qatar and parental consent will be sought prior to testing any child.
PHCC Managing Director Dr Mariam Abdul Malik said, “We are pleased to be utilising the saliva-based COVID-19 test for children alongside our key partners and we will be using this method throughout our four to six-week testing programme.
“The standard test used to date in Qatar has been the swab test, which requires a swab to be inserted into the individuals nose and to the back of their throat. This is very effective but some people, especially children, can find the process uncomfortable. Studies around the world have been looking at the use of saliva only swabs and the results have confirmed their effectiveness.”
“Since students returned to classrooms on September 1, 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. This is a very low rate of infection among this population group,” said Dr Hamad Al Romaihi, manager of Health Protection and Communicable Disease Control at MOPH.
“As with all positive cases in Qatar, our track and trace teams have worked hard to identify where these positive cases among children and teachers were transmitted and it is clear that they did not catch the virus in schools. Our surveillance shows they caught the virus outside of school settings, mainly at home during social gatherings,” Dr Romaihi added.
Doha
The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has announced plans to introduce saliva-based COVID-19 tests for children from Sunday, September 20, as part of a national testing programme to gain a better understanding of infection rates.
The MoPH will work in collaboration with Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) to carry out tests for all students in both government and private schools in Qatar and parental consent will be sought prior to testing any child.
PHCC Managing Director Dr Mariam Abdul Malik said, “We are pleased to be utilising the saliva-based COVID-19 test for children alongside our key partners and we will be using this method throughout our four to six-week testing programme.
“The standard test used to date in Qatar has been the swab test, which requires a swab to be inserted into the individuals nose and to the back of their throat. This is very effective but some people, especially children, can find the process uncomfortable. Studies around the world have been looking at the use of saliva only swabs and the results have confirmed their effectiveness.”
“Since students returned to classrooms on September 1, 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. This is a very low rate of infection among this population group,” said Dr Hamad Al Romaihi, manager of Health Protection and Communicable Disease Control at MOPH.
“As with all positive cases in Qatar, our track and trace teams have worked hard to identify where these positive cases among children and teachers were transmitted and it is clear that they did not catch the virus in schools. Our surveillance shows they caught the virus outside of school settings, mainly at home during social gatherings,” Dr Romaihi added.
