The Government of Abu Dhabi has rolled out the second phase of saliva testing to more schools across the emirate.
The steps were taken as part of the Department of Health and Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre’s strategic commitment to study and develop rapid testing methods that will supersede the COVID-19 nasal swab test, which is uncomfortable for young school students.
Dr. Omniyat Al-Hajri, Director of the Community Health Department – Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre, said: “Our experience has shown that saliva collection is easier and more comfortable than the nasal swab for the age group between 4 and 12 years old, and the new method has been greatly welcomed by both students and parents as well as by the teaching staff who participated in supervising the students during the testing at school.”
The Saliva Polymerase-Chain-Reaction (SPCR) test is considered an innovative and reliable test, whose results are produced fast and accurately in a period ranging between 6 and 12 hours from the time of sample collection.
The Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre, in cooperation with the Department of Education and Knowledge and Biogenix Labs, a company of G42 Healthcare, completed phase one of saliva tests in October 2020.
The second phase has been launched across 25 schools in December with more than 2,000 students examined so far. This phase will continue to collect samples from students in private and charter schools in Abu Dhabi identified by the health authorities.
Biogenix Labs is well-prepared to execute testing operations during the second phase and has the capacity to process 30,000 saliva Polymerase-Chain-Reaction (SPCR) tests per day.
The SPCR test has a high degree of accuracy and involves fewer steps, with saliva being collected in a sterile container that does not require special preservatives, temperature controls, or additional containers.
Dr. Tariq Al Ameri, Director of the Licensing and Education Compliance Department at the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge, added: “We were keen to conduct periodic COVID-19 checks for all school personnel as of the beginning of the academic year, while requiring all students over the age of 12 to submit a negative test result before returning to school.”
