DUBAI: The UAE government on Friday prohibited its nationals from travelling to 14 countries, including India and Pakistan, in a major step to arrest the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC) and the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA) announced that its citizens are prohibited from travelling to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Namibia, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Liberia, South Africa, and Nigeria.
“Exempt from the decision are the UAE diplomatic missions in the aforementioned countries; emergency treatment cases; official delegations and previously authorised business and technical delegates,” they said in a statement released to the UAE’s official news agency WAM.
“In a joint statement marking the commencement of the peak travel season which coincides with the exceptional circumstances the world is going through currently due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the MoFAIC and NCEMA underlined the need for the UAE citizens to comply with all precautionary measures in general, particularly the COVID-19 countermeasures, and all other preventative protocols in place in their countries of destination,” it said.
The two entities also emphasised on the need for the UAE citizens to adhere to self-isolation should they get COVID-19 positive during their travel, and ensure compliance with all instructions, requirements and health protocols applied by their host countries.
They were also asked to notify the UAE embassies in their host countries in case they get infected. On Friday, India saw a single-day rise of 46,617 new coronavirus infections, taking the tally to 3,04,58,251, while the national recovery rate has crossed 97 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry.
The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 4,00,312 with 853 daily fatalities. Over 34 crore vaccine doses have been administered under the nationwide vaccination drive so far, it said.
The UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention on Thursday reported 1,675 new COVID-19 cases along with 1,556 recoveries and 8 deaths. The total number of cases in the UAE as on July 1 are 634,582, while total recoveries stand at 612,998. The death toll now stands at 1,819.
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