Residents must do virus test 72 hours before return
The regulations, which come into effect from July 1, mean travellers are not permitted to board a plane bound for the UAE without first getting confirmation that they are free of COVID-19
UAE residents with valid residency visa permits who are currently out of the country must undergo a COVID-19 test and receive a negative result at least 72 hours before returning to the Emirates under new rules announced by the UAE government.
The regulations, which come into effect from July 1, mean travellers are not permitted to board a plane bound for the UAE without first getting confirmation that they are free of COVID19.
The National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) and the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA) announced the new rules as part of ongoing efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and support the UAE’S strategy of gradually easing travel restrictions.
As part of the new regulations, the UAE government has issued a list of preconditions that need to be followed ahead of the approved return of foreign nationals with valid residence permits to the UAE.
Most importantly, those returning to the Emirates must undergo testing for COVID-19 in an approved lab. These can currently be found in around 106 cities in 17 countries around the world, with this number due to increase to 150 labs in 31 countries as the testing initiative is rolled out, NCEMA and ICA announced. A list of these labs can be found by visiting the ICA’S website: Smartservice.ica.gov.ae
Valid UAE visa-holders coming to the Emirates from countries that don’t have approved testing labs at this moment will be subjected to COVID-19 screening until such facilities become available, whereupon all screening conditions must be applied.
All returning residents must comply with 14day isolation rules at home or in an isolation facility. In addition, they must bear all costs of tests and quarantine in the event that their private accommodation doesn’t meet required standards. Employers of foreign nationals with UAE visas should bear any such expenses whenever required.
Returning UAE residents are instructed to download one of the approved smart phone apps so health authorities can monitor their status and ensure the safety of the public. Recently, The Federal Authority for Government Human Resources, FAHR, announced that staffing capacity in all ministries and federal authorities from July 5, 2020, will be 100 percent. In an announcement, the Authority said this represents an important step that contributes to achieving the UAE strategy for a POST-COVID-19 situation, reflecting country’s pursuance to be one of the fastest-growing and developing countries in the world through the resumption of various economic and social activities, even as it abides by all COVID-19 countermeasures.
The Authority has circulated the decision to all federal departments. This includes cancelling all exceptions granted to employees of the federal government. The exceptions are limited to only one category of employees with chronic diseases on the submission of a detailed medical report approved by the relevant medical committee. The decision also stressed the importance of the federal authorities to adhere to a set of conditions, the foremost of which is strict adherence to the application of the “The Guidelines for Office and Workplace Environment during Emergency Conditions’’, and the instructions related to professional safety and health with an emphasis on social distancing to the employees in federal government departments. The decision stipulates the continuance of flexible working hours and dividing employees into groups when attending and leaving work to reduce gatherings to achieve physical distancing, and to activate the use of the remote work system approved in the federal government following the regulations and provisions contained therein, which ensures the continuity of service provision, work and production.
The decision is based on a large number of normative studies and research, especially the “safe return protocol” to the workplace set by the relevant committee in the Ministry of Health and Prevention in coordination with the Health Authority — Abu Dhabi, the Dubai Health Authority and the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority, NCEMA.