Abu Dhabi announced on Thursday the cancellation of quarantine for vaccinated travelers starting from next Sunday, while the UAE recorded no new deaths from COVID-19 for the first time since mid-November last year. The UAE had announced at the end of last month that it would resume accepting tourist visa applications for vaccinated tourists from all countries ahead of hosting the Expo 2020 global event in Dubai.
The Abu Dhabi government media office stated in a release, citing the Emergency, Crisis, and Disaster Management Committee for the COVID-19 pandemic, that "all vaccinated tourists must register their vaccination certificate on the website or smart application of the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship" before traveling to the emirate. They must also "present a negative result from a nasal swab test taken within 48 hours prior to the flight" upon departure.
Previously, the Emirate's capital had imposed a quarantine on arrivals. On Thursday, the UAE's Ministry of Health reported 975 new COVID-19 cases and no deaths during the past 24 hours for the first time since November 14.
Dubai is preparing to host the World Expo starting in October and lasting six months. The emirate is betting on the expo, which was postponed for a year due to the virus, to attract millions of visitors. The UAE began its national vaccination campaign against COVID-19 in December after approving the Chinese Sinopharm and American-German Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines. Since then, the UAE has also approved a third vaccine, AstraZeneca, and the Russian Sputnik V vaccine.
To date, the UAE has recorded over 720,000 COVID-19 infections, including 2,043 deaths, with more than 70 percent of the population having received both vaccine doses.
