Avoid travelling to countries on banned list, Emiratis told
ABU DHABI: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation ( MOFAIC) and the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority ( NCEMA) have announced that the UAE citizens are prohibited from travelling to the countries the UAE have banned entry from recently, which include: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Namibia, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Liberia, South Africa, and Nigeria.
Exempt from the decision are the UAE diplomatic missions in the aforementioned countries; emergency treatment cases; official delegations; and previously authorised business and technical delegates.
In a joint statement marking the commencement of the peak travel season which coincides with the exceptional circumstances the world is going through currently due to COVID-19 pandemic, the MOFAIC and NCEMA underline the need for the UAE citizens to comply with all precautionary measures in general, particularly the COVID-19 countermeasures, and all other preventative protocols in place in their countries of destination.
According to the statement, infected Emiratis will be allowed to return to the UAE ater geting the necessary approvals from the relevant authorities in the host country as well as the competent health departments in the UAE, while adhering to all the guidelines and health requirements needed to ensure their safe repatriation.
GOLDEN VISA WORK PERMIT: The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has announced the start of issuing work permits for Golden Residency holders.
The step is an implementation of the Cabinet resolution, under which work permits for Golden Residency holders were created.
The ministry stated that such permits are required in three cases. First are those who were unemployed when they received their Golden Residency, and wish to start working for a certain employer; second are Golden Residency holders who plan to start working for a new employer, and third, is when a current employer wishes to renew the work permit and contract of a Golden Residency holder.
The ministry explained that the same rules and procedures related to the issuance of work permits and contracts apply to dependents registered on their parents’ residency if they are applying for work and are Golden Visa holders.
Work permits and contracts concluded between employers and workers who receive the Golden Residency will remain valid, and subject to all applicable UAE legislations.
UAE CASES: The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) announced that it conducted 291,003 additional COVID-19 tests and detected 1,675 new coronavirus cases.
MOHAP also announced 8 deaths due to COVID-19 complications.
It also noted that an additional 1,556 individuals had fully recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of recoveries to 612,998.
The Ministry also announced that 81,142 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were given in the past 24 hours.
The total number of doses provided up to Thursday stands at 15,362,342 with a rate of vaccine distribution of 155.33 doses per 100 people.
EUROPE TOURISM: While not a complete wash-out, the summer tourism season vital to southern Europe’s economies will be less than sizzling as the Delta coronavirus spreads and travel hurdles keep British and other sun-seekers at home.
A European Union COVID-19 travel certificate launched on Thursday may help some make trips but arrivals to tourist hotspots from Portugal to Croatia are set to remain well down on normal levels, puting businesses and hospitality jobs at risk.
WHO ON CHINA VACCINE: The World Health Organization said Thursday that any COVID-19 vaccines it has authorised for emergency use should be recognized by countries as they open up their borders to inoculated travelers.
The move could challenge Western countries to broaden their acceptance of two apparently less effective Chinese vaccines, which the U.N. health agency has licensed but most European and North American countries have not.
In addition to vaccines by Pfizer-biontech, Moderna Inc., Astrazeneca and Johnson & Johnson, the WHO has also given the green light to the two Chinese jabs, made by Sinovac and Sinopharm.
In its reviews of the two Chinese vaccines, the UN health agency said both were found to significantly reduce the risk of hospitalisations and deaths.
US VACCINE GOAL: US President Joe Biden came up well short on his goal of delivering 80 million doses of coronavirus vaccine to the rest of the world by the end of June as a host of logistical and regulatory hurdles slowed the pace of US vaccine diplomacy.
Although the Biden administration has announced that about 50 countries and entities will receive a share of the excess COVID-19 vaccine doses, the US has shipped less than 24 million doses to 10 recipient countries, according to a media tally.