CAIRO: A drug-testing campaign conducted on school bus drivers will resume its work Sunday after a temporary halt during the first round of parliamentary elections held in the country from Oct. 18-28.
The screening will be carried out for two weeks until the second phase of the elections kicks off in Egypt Nov. 22.
The campaign will operate at 60 private schools in Sharqia, Alexandria and Dakahlia governorates.
An anti-driving under influence (DUI) campaign at private schools launched by the government entered its second consecutive year in October. It has examined some 700 drivers at 46 schools, and found 60 drivers positive for hashish, heroin and Tramadol in three governorates: Cairo, Giza and Qalubiya.
The campaign plans to test a total of 4,000 drivers at 600 schools during this academic year 2015/2016. Last year, 7 percent of 1,400 school bus drivers tested positive for drugs.
A 2014 crash in which 11 students burned to death is believed to have triggered the government’s attention to monitor the road after the crash involved a truck driver who tested positive for hashish. The government’s escalation aims to reduce road accidents caused by driving under the influence (DUI.)