Several schools in Qatar have been temporarily shut by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MOEHE) for violating COVID-19 safety precautions. It has also imposed penalties commensurate with the degree of their violation.

The schools will be required to provide schooling to students online while they remain closed, the ministry said in a statement.

The violations were found during periodic and surprise inspections carried out jointly by MOEHE and the Ministry of Public Health.

While the inspection campaign has shown that most schools adhered to the precautionary measures, it revealed lax attitude from some schools — particularly their failure in ensuring students and staff wore masks correctly, reading their body temperatures before letting them in, maintaining safe distance between individuals and making sterilization tools available.

Probe has also been ordered to find the source of COVID-19 infections on schools campuses.