Fresh guidelines for Indian fliers to Dubai
Theairindiaexpresshasannouncedfreshguidelines for all the passengers flying to Dubai from India.
Effective April 22, 2021 at 00:001hrs, all passengers travelling from India to Dubai Airport must hold a valid COVID-19 test certificate that is issued within 48 hours from the time of collecting the sample.
They should also ensure that the time of sample collection – ‘Date and Time’ and time of reporting “Result date and result time” are accurate.
The PCR test report must indicate a ‘negative’ test result, described either in Arabic or English, issued from a certified lab at the original point of destination, where the passenger is travelling.
Moreover, it is also mandatory that the PCR test report include a QR code which is linked to the original reports, for verification by the airline. At arrival, Dubai Health Authority representative will verify the same.
India’s capital New Delhi enters a week-long lockdown as the megacity struggles to contain a huge surge in cases with hospitals running out of beds and oxygen supplies low.
And India says it will open its COVID-19 vaccination drive to all adults from May 1 and reports a record-high of 273,810 infections to take the total to 15.06 million.
The Yogi Adityanath government will not implement the lockdown in five cities as ordered by the Allahabad High Court on Monday.
The Allahabad High Court on Monday ordered a complete lockdown in five cities in Utar Pradesh till April 26.
The five cities are Lucknow, Prayagraj, Kanpur, Varanasi and Gorakhpur. All these cities have been reporting a high virus load.
Britain on Monday imposed its strictest travel curbs on India ater an explosion of coronavirus cases there, hours ater Prime Minister Boris Johnson called off a trip to New Delhi.
Health Secretary Mat Hancock said that effective from 0300 GMT on Friday, India was being added to Britain’s “red list” of countries, banning all arrivals from India except for UK or Irish nationals.
Those nationals, along with foreigners who live in the UK, must pay hety amounts to stay in a government-approved quarantine hotel for 10 days following their return from red-list nations, which include Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Hong Kong will suspend flights from India, Pakistan and the Philippines from April 20 for two weeks ater the N501Y mutant COVID-19 strain was detected in the Asian financial hub for the first time, authorities said in a statement late on Sunday.
The three countries would be classified as “extremely high risk” ater there had been multiple imported cases carrying the strain into Hong Kong in the past 14 days, the government said.
In the UAE, the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) reports 1, 803 new coronavirus cases.
In addition to the new cases, 1,760 individuals recovered and two people passed away.
Using state-of-the-art medical testing equipment, the ministry has conducted 141,862 additional COVID-19 tests over the last 24 hours.
Since the outbreak, the UAE has recorded 498, 957 positive cases, 481, 326 have recovered and 1, 556 passed away.
The Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre (ADPHC) conducted a study which found a significant decrease in the rate of Covid-19 infection ater receiving a second vaccine dose, and affirms that in the event of an infection, a patient has mild symptoms and does not require admission to hospital or ICU (Intensive Care Unit).
The study found the efficacy of vaccination in preventing hospitalisation around 93 per cent, while the efficacy of vaccination in reducing the need to be admited to an ICU is 95 per cent. The study found no deaths related to COVID-19 have been recorded in patients who received all doses required.
The health authorities have urged everyone to follow all the precautionary measures.
The experts said, “Avoid physical contact, including shaking hands, hugging, or kissing when greeting, and only wave your hand from a sufficient distance of not less than two metres when greeting.”
Kerala has imposed a night curfew from April 20 to curb the spread of COVID-19. The curfew will be between 9pm and 5am.
India has given 100% advance, calculated as Rs3,000 crore for the Serum Institute and Rs1,000 crore for Bharat Biotech (which produces Covaxin).
UK adds India to COVID travel ‘red list’ as PM cancels trip; UAE records 1,803 new cases; no deaths in Abu Dhabi after vaccination; Hong Kong bans flights from India, Philippines and Pakistan; Indian firms given 100% advance to make vaccines.