The UAE will ban all unvaccinated citizens from travel on January 10, the country’s National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) announced Saturday.
The new rules also require Emiratis planning to travel to have received a booster dose of vaccine if they are eligible. The booster can be taken six months after an individual has received their second dose of vaccine.
In the announcement, NCEMA noted that individuals that are medically exempted from taking the vaccine or are traveling for medical and treatment purposes will still be permitted to travel if they are unvaccinated. The organisation also said that travel in humanitarian cases would be unaffected.
The announcement comes as the UAE tightens Covid-19 guidelines in the face of rising case figures globally.
Earlier on Saturday, the Federal Authority for Government and Human Resources (FAHR) said that unvaccinated government employees would no longer be allowed into their workplaces from January 3.
In a circular issued to all ministries and federal entities, FAHR said that in accordance with the directives of the UAE government regarding the implementation of the “Green Pass Protocol” for all federal government employees it had decided to standardise all resolutions related to the COVID-19 preventive measures, to facilitate the work of federal government entities.
On Saturday NCEMA also reported 2,426 cases of Covid-19 in the country, the highest daily total for the UAE since early March. The figure comes less than a month since the UAE announced the first case of the highly transmittable Omicrom variant of the virus.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, on Thursday assured Emiratis and residents that the health sector is fully geared and prepared to address any challenges associated with the new coronavirus wave.
Speaking during a meeting at Qasr Al Bahr Majlis, Sheikh Mohamed said that the emerging Covid variant Omicron will take some time, but will disappear as was the case with previous strains.
Follow us on
