UAE bans travel for unvaccinated citizens, booster dose required for vaccinated

The United Arab Emirates announced a travel ban on its citizens unvaccinated against coronavirus disease (Covid-19), starting January 10.

The National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) of the UAE said that the vaccinated citizens, in order to travel, are further required to obtain the booster dose as per the country’s Covid protocol.

The Arab nation will allow travel for individuals medically exempted from taking the Covid-19 vaccine, humanitarian cases, and those travelling for medical and treatment purposes.

“Ban on Travel on UAE citizens unvaccinated with #Covid19 vaccine, starting Jan 10, 2022, with a requirement to obtain the booster dose for the fully vaccinated,” the official handle of NCEMA posted on Twitter. “With an exemption for medically exempted from taking the vaccine, humanitarian & treatment cases.”

The travel ban has been announced amid a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases, driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant, in the United States and Europe. The surge in Covid-19 cases and hospitalisations, with the new variant of concern causing breakthrough infections, have also led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights across the globe.

On Saturday, the UAE reported 2,556 fresh Covid-19 cases in the previous 24 hours, taking the cumulative infections to 764,493, according to the ministry of health and prevention. The ministry reported one virus-related death, taking the country’s death toll at 2,165.

Earlier this week, HT reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposed visit to the UAE in January has been put off because of concerns over the rapid spread of the Omicron variant in the country. While no official announcement regarding the visit was made by any of the two countries, it was expected that PM Modi would have been in the UAE on January 5-6.