UAE | Health
H1N1 checks on Emirati students before coming for vacation
UAE committee working on a mechanism to examine Emirati students studying abroad before they return home.
- B y Abdullah Rasheed, Abu Dhabi Editor
- Published: 23:06 June 17, 2009
Abu Dhabi: The Higher Supervisory Committee on Combating H1N1 (Swine Flu) is working on a mechanism to examine Emirati students studying abroad before they return home for summer holidays.
Read in-depth on swine flu
The move came after an increasing number of GCC students studying abroad were diagnosed with swine flu.
Humaid Mohammad Obaid Al Qutami, Minister of Education, told Gulf News that the ministry is aware of the importance of the issue and studied integrated plans to conduct medical exams in co-operation with the committee.
The plan aims to thoroughly examine students before they return and quarantine suspected cases.
"The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, which is the official body responsible for UAE students studying abroad, is coordinating with other bodies to implement this mechanism," Al Qutami said.
This would reassure everyone and prevent panic until the students have been checked, especially in the US, Australia, Canada and Europe, where the majority of UAE students are.
A source at the committee said that a plan has been set to conduct full checkups on students in countries where they are studying. The committee has submitted a plan to the Health Minister to provide medical and technical teams to carry out the mission.
The committee will contact UAE embassies to get a list of students in each country and send a medical team equipped with the latest thermal detectors to countries such as the US, Australia and European countries, he added.
There are 600 Emirati students abroad under the supervision of the Ministry of Higher Education, and four times this number of students are studying on scholarships from various other organisations. Are you an Emirati student abroad? Are you worried about swine flu? Do you agree with this latest measure to prevent the spread of swine flu?
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