Coronavirus: Dubai increases testing for international travellers

All passengers must now be tested before travelling to Dubai and some will be screened again on arrival

Tourists from Ukraine arrive at Dubai International Airport on flydubai flight on July 10. Courtesy: Dubai Media Office

The Covid-19 pandemic requires everyone to maintain hygiene protocols such as wearing a mask and social distancing. AFP

An Indian passenger carries a child as she waits for a repatriation flight from Dubai International Airport. AFP

Health workers test an Indian citizen at Dubai International Airport before he boards a repatriation flight. AFP  

Medics screen passengers waiting to board repatriation flights at Dubai International Airport. AFP

Passengers heading for Dubai can now be tested for Covid-19 at a greater number of facilities after the Emirates airlines recognised more clinics outside the Pure Health network. Getty Images

Dubai updated its travel regulations to include more testing for travellers, after a recent rise in Covid-19 case numbers.

On Wednesday, the emirate's Supreme Committee for Crisis and Disaster Management said all passengers must undergo a PCR test before travelling to Dubai, regardless of where they are travelling from.

Previously, only six countries were exempt from the preflight PCR test requirement. These included passengers from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. Instead, they received a PCR nasal swab on arrival at either of Dubai's two airports.

As of Sunday, January 31, citizens of Gulf countries, UAE residents and tourists must take a PCR test before travelling to Dubai. The result must be received 72 hours before the scheduled flight departure time, down from the previous 96 hours. Passengers must bring an official, printed certificate of the negative test result in English or Arabic to check-in. SMS and digital certificates are not accepted.

The measures will take effect from Sunday and apply to all international ports of entry to Dubai, the committee said.

Protocols will remain the same for UAE citizens returning to the country from overseas, which exempt them from needing a PCR test prior to departure, regardless of the country they are coming from. They will be required to take a PCR test only on arrival in Dubai.

Arrivals from certain countries – based on the status of the pandemic in those countries – require an additional test on arrival in Dubai.

The committee directed Dubai Airports to provide rapid PCR or rapid antigen testing to facilitate travel procedures for passengers travelling to countries that require those types of pre-travel screening.

People who have been in South Africa within 14 days of departure are not allowed to travel to Dubai. This includes transiting in other countries within 14 days before travelling to the emirate.

The announcement came as the UAE reported 3,939 new cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday, raising the total number of infections to 289,086 since the pandemic began.

Recoveries far exceeded new infections with 4,536 people cleared of Covid-19. This brought total recoveries to 263,730. It was the eighth consecutive day that recoveries outstripped new cases, with a record recovery figure set.

Six people died of related complications, taking the death toll to 811.

Wednesday's cases were detected after another 174,016 tests were conducted across the country. The UAE has carried out more than 25 million PCR and DPI tests since the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Active cases stand at 24,545.