ABU DHABI – The UAE Monday announced to suspend entry of passengers from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka from May 12, 2021, amid the prevailing COVID-19 situation.
The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and the National Emergency, Crisis, and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) in a statement entry will be suspended for all incoming passengers on national and foreign carriers, as well as those carrying transit passengers.
The decision exempts transit flights coming to the UAE and heading towards these countries.
This decision is applicable to the entry of travellers who were in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka in the last 14 days before coming to the UAE, the official news agency of Emirate said.
Flights between these countries and the UAE will continue to operate, allowing the transportation of passengers from the UAE to those countries. It will also allow the transfer of some exempted groups from the four aforementioned countries to the UAE, with strict enforcement of precautionary measures.
These groups include UAE citizens, diplomats appointed by the UAE in these countries, official delegations, businessmen’s chartered flights, and those holding golden residency visa, provided that they undertake preventive measures that include quarantine for 10 days and a PCR test at the airport, as well as on the fourth and eighth days following the entry into the country.
Moreover, the validity of the PCR test period has been reduced from 72 hours to 48 hours prior to travel from accredited laboratories that issue test results carrying a QR code.
The authority also confirmed that it is required for those coming from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka through other countries to stay in those countries for at least 14 days before being allowed to enter the UAE. Cargo flights will continue to operate between the UAE and these countries.
Last month, the UAE had suspended the entry of travelers from India which is facing a devastating situation due to a massive surge in coronavirus cases and deaths for the past few weeks.
Apart from UAE, Malaysia, Canada, UK, Oman have also banned flights from Pakistan to slow the spread of the virus.
Pakistan confirmed 3,447 covid-19 cases during the last 24 hours on Monday as the nation battles the third wave of the infection.
According to reports from the National Command and Operation Centre, 78 people died as a result of the outbreak on Saturday (NCOC).
According to the NCOC, 3,447 positive cases were reported after 37,756 people were screened for the virus. In a single day, the country’s positivity level stands at 9.12 percent.
The country’s cumulative number of active cases has risen to 80,375. Pakistan was treating 5,342 covid-19 patients across 639 hospitals, according to the NCOC.
The recent deaths bring the total number of people who have died as a result of the outbreak to 18,993.
The virus claimed the lives of the most people in the last 24 hours in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where 27 people died, followed by Punjab, where 26 people died on Saturday.
In Balochistan, one individual has died as a result of the infection in the last 24 hours.
Read more: https://pakobserver.net/pakistan-restricts-astrazeneca-for-under-40/
