More places in Dubai to offer Dh50 blood test needed to cross Abu Dhabi border
More screening centres in Dubai will offer a Dh50 test aimed at giving commuters travelling to Abu Dhabi a cheaper and faster way to enter the capital.
Drive-through clinics at Mina Rashid and Khawaneej were initially set up to perform PCR nasal swab tests, which cost Dh370. Now medics at the clinics will use a rapid blood test that delivers results in less than five minutes.
The diffractive phase interferometry test does not confirm whether someone has Covid-19 – but does show whether the person’s red blood cells are surging to fight an illness.
It cannot be used for international travel but police at the border of Abu Dhabi and Dubai will accept it to allow entry to the capital.
The expanded centres, one near the Gold Souq and the other at Dubai International Airport, will take the pressure off the screening centre at Ghantoot, near the Abu Dhabi-Dubai border, which is booked up weeks in advance. As The National reported last week, the centre at Ghantoot processes tests for about 6,000 people a day, with 10,000 seen daily over the Eid Al Adha holidays.
Anyone who fails the procedure will be denied entry to the capital, taken aside and asked to undergo a swab test for the coronavirus.
In addition to the centres in Dubai, five in the Northern Emirates offer the DPI blood test. The drive-through screening centre at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi also offers the test as well as nasal swabs.
Residents need an appointment and can book online through the Seha app or by calling 800 1717.
The test result is valid for 48 hours and is intended only for those people planning to cross the border.