In Lebanon, the Lebanese authorities postponed the return to school premises to 10 January 2022. The return at LFIE Beyrouth-Bchamoun and Tyre had been scheduled for 3 January. We therefore held the first week as distance learning (EAD) from 3 to 10 January.
We then had a week of in-person teaching. Since then, despite some class closures, we have kept our schools open. Parents are satisfied with this. The number of COVID cases is higher in secondary than in primary.
In the UAE, a change unrelated to Covid (!): the Emirati authorities decided to change the organisation of the week from 1st January 2022 by moving the weekend. From now on, activities (and therefore lessons) stop from Friday noon until Sunday evening. This change, announced in December a few days before the holidays, meant reorganising all timetables to move from 5 full days (Sunday to Thursday) to 4 and a half days (Monday to Friday noon).
On the health front, the return to school was kept at 3 January, but the first 15 days took place remotely. In Abu Dhabi, distance learning has just been extended by one week, but in Dubai pupils are once again being welcomed back into schools.