Coronavirus: UAE says COVID-19 PCR tests required for all inbound, transit passengers

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates confirmed that all travelers arriving or transiting in the country must present a negative COVID-19 PCR test result, according to a statement.

The announcement was made on Wednesday by Dr. Saif Al Dhaheri, the official spokesman for the National Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA), adding that the tests must have a validity of 72 hours and conducted by an accredited laboratory.

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“Dr. Saif al-Dhaheri announced the necessity of all returning travelers presenting a PCR test result from accredited laboratories, pointing out that these laboratories can be found through the website screening.purehealth.ae, which will be published in the official channels,” a statement from the Emirates News Agency read.

“Al-Dhahiri stressed the need for air carriers to ensure that those arriving for their flights have a negative test result and ensuring that the test certificate is issued by recognized centers. Tests should have a validity period not exceeding 72 hours upon arrival in the UAE, regardless of the departure airport, as of 24 July 2020,” the statement added.

“The decision to apply prior testing on all those coming to the country shall be applied as of 1st August without impingement on the mandatory testing measures that travellers have to follow upon arrival at the country's airports,” added the official WAM news agency.

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The NCEMA and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation confirmed that all departures through the country's airports heading toward the European Union and Britain and countries that require a COVID-19 PCR examination must do the pre-check before boarding the plane. This comes in light of the efforts made to preserve the health and safety of citizens and residents, and to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The United Arab Emirates has detected 236 new cases of the novel coronavirus, one death, and 389 COVID-19 recoveries in the past 24 hours, according to health officials.

The newly detected infections now raise the UAE’s tally of cases to 57,734, after the country conducted 47,014 COVID-19 tests.