Coronavirus: Abu Dhabi repatriates 180,000 blue-collar workers after free testing

The government revealed the scale of its efforts to return residents home

Nearly 400,000 Indians have left the UAE for India since repatriation flights started in May. AFP

An immigration official checks documents of passenger at Dubai Airport. Wam

Passengers at Dubai International Airport wait for their flight to Calicut in Kerala. Courtesy: Indian Consulate

An Indian woman carries a child as she waits at the Dubai International Airport before leaving the country on a flight home on May 7. Karim Sahib / AFP

Health workers check passengers who arrived on an Emirates Airlines flight from London at Dubai International Airport amid the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic. AFP

Health workers check passengers who arrived on an Emirates Airlines flight from London at Dubai International Airport amid the coronavirus pandemic. AFP

Passengers of an Emirates airlines flight, departing to the Australian city of Sydney, wear protective gear at Dubai International Airport on May 22. Karim Sahib / AFP

Passengers of an Emirates airlines flight line up to be checked by health workers at the Dubai International Airport. Karim Sahib / AFP

Travellers walk through Dubai International Airport to board a repatriation flight. Karim Sahib / AFP

A passenger of an Emirates airlines flight checks in at Dubai International Airport. Karim Sahib / AFP

Abu Dhabi's government flew 180,000 labourers home in the past three months in one of the largest operations of its kind.

Officials said blue-collar workers were repatriated following negative tests for Covid-19.

The huge repatriation campaign - the extent of which was not revealed at the time - came after officials last week said 570,000 people had been tested in the Mussaffah industrial district of the capital.

Abu Dhabi Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Committee said it had "co-ordinated repatriation flights for more than 180,000 workers during the past three months, after ensuring that these people were free from infection, and had received all their dues".

Prior to flights home, officials said they arranged "accommodation and food for workers who lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic, ensuring that all workers get their wages, dues and all other rights".

The committee did not list the countries that the flights were arrange to, but the district is home to thousands of Indian, Pakistan and Bangladeshi construction and industrial workers, among many other nationalities.

The testing operation in Mussaffah saw streets and public areas sprayed with disinfectant, while police enforced strict 6pm to 6am movement restrictions at one stage.

Thousands of residents were tested around the clock, as medics and officers went door to door to ensure no one was missed.

A similar operation in high density areas of downtown Abu Dhabi sees emergency teams going from building to building to test families and identify Covid-19 carriers.

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