Last Tuesday was our first day with kids in the physical building but before kids were allowed back, every teacher was required to submit to a Covid-19 test. So last Saturday, I had mine done. I would be lying if I said it was painful but it was not comfortable at all and I would be okay with never getting that done again. Thankfully it was at the expense of my employer and scheduled by them. I also heard that teachers and students will be randomly tested throughout the school year, just like a random drug test.
So how was it exactly.
It was a drive-in nasal swab. A long q-tip like object was slid into my nose, all the way up to my brain (it seemed), a specimen was collected and then the q-tip was taken out. It seemed like it just kept going and going up and took forever to come back out. My nose burned some for about an hour afterwards but there was no blood or discharge afterwards. I did not want to take the test but I’m glad I did. All kinds of things went through my head while I waited for the results.
Do I have Corona? What if I do?
Did they just put a chip in my head?
Within 30 hours I had my negative results along with all the other teachers in the school. What a relief!
And for the first time in my teaching career, teachers are asked to stay home if they aren’t feeling well. And because I am asthmatic, if I’m not feeling up to it, I can work from home too.
Very few students showed up for school on week 1. Every two grades came in using the same entrance spread out throughout the school. No nannies, drivers, or parent are permitted to enter. They must drop their children off at the door where they are escorted in, and checked for mask and temperature. All teachers are required to wear a mask and have their Etheraz app checked upon arrival. Half of each class has school from 7-10, whether they are in person or online and the other half from 11-2. Tuesday’s are virtual for everyone. This is how things stand for now but a survey was sent to parents a few days ago asking them to vote on fully online or fully in person. So we shall see what happens. So far so good.
Each day the new daily number of people infected with Covid-19 averages around 220 and the total number of active cases has finally dropped below 3,000. This is nice especially since there was a total of over 100,000 positive cases in this country and 202 deaths. That number is high for this tiny country but Qatar has done well and way better than many other countries around the world.
We are in the final phase of phase 4 reopening of the country. Visitors are still not allowed but residents who left the country are allowed to return and join the general population after a covid test and set quarantine. The movie theaters have just reopened with limited capacity along with many other venues. Children are allowed in the malls again and I’ve heard it is crazy. I am not in a rush to join that chaos.
I am looking forward to the day that Qatar announces 0 new cases.
Did you have covid-test? What was your experience like?
Teaching Abroad- American Teacher Overseas 