Egypt’s Minister of Health and Population Hala Zayed announced, on Saturday, the ministry’s plan to ensure safety of school leaving (Thanaweyya Amma) exam takers in the 2020/2021 academic year.
The plan comes as part of the ministry’s efforts to implement all precautionary measures in various activities and events.
These come in conjunction with the state’s measures to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
According to the Ministry of Health and Population’s statement, the plan includes the provision of 2,156 equipped ambulances, which will be distributed around the examination centres in all governorates.
Moreover, the plan includes the implementation of all medical and preventive measures, and the monitoring of the commitment of students, observers, supervisors, workers inside schools and exam centres to wearing masks. This monitoring will take place through health visitors who will check exam centres and schools.
Additionally, thermal detectors are provided to measure temperatures for students and supervisors before entering the exam centres with disinfection of hands with alcohol.
All centres, tools, and common surfaces will be disinfected and sterilised in accordance with infection control protocols, whilst also ensuring good ventilation for classrooms.
Additionally, all examination halls and toilets will be disinfected, with waste to be safely disposed of, while emergency medicines and first aid will be available in school clinics.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Population has activated a central operations room at its general office to follow up on the exams process, and which works around the clock. It includes representatives from various sectors of the ministry, and is linked to sub-sectors of the health affairs directorates in the governorates.
Any case that may be suspected of having an infectious disease will be isolated in designated rooms, and a doctor will be called to examine the case before transferring to the nearest hospital to receive the necessary health care, according to the statement.
