COVID-19: Abu Dhabi updates PCR testing, quarantine rules for arriving passengers


Abu Dhabi on Sunday has updated COVID-19 testing and quarantine requirements for citizens and residents of Abu Dhabi returning from travel abroad, effective from July 5.

The Abu Dhabi emergency, crisis, and disasters committee said that vaccinated citizens and residents arriving in Abu Dhabi from green list destinations must take a PCR test on arrival without the need to quarantine, and take a PCR test on day six.

Vaccinated citizens and residents arriving from other destinations, must take a PCR test on arrival, quarantine for seven days, and take a PCR test on Day six.

The protocol applies to citizens and residents of the UAE who have been vaccinated and who received the second dose at least 28 days before and documented in the vaccine report on the Al-Hosn app.

Unvaccinated citizens and residents arriving in Abu Dhabi from green list destinations must take a PCR test on arrival without the need to quarantine, and take a PCR test on days 6 and 12.

Unvaccinated citizens and residents arriving in Abu Dhabi from other destinations must take a PCR test on arrival, quarantine for twelve days, and take another PCR test on day eleven.

Earlier on June 24, Abu Dhabi updated its green list of destinations to include 31 countries in total. While European countries such as Austria, Denmark, Italy, Norway, and Sweden were added to the list, Cuba and Kyrgyzstan were removed from the list.

The United Arab Emirates will only allow vaccinated people in emirate including shopping centers, restaurants, schools, universities, cafes, resorts, museums, and theme parks, from August 20.

The Emirates recently have launched a new COVID-19 contact tracing system, touted to be the first of its kind in the region, which uses a virtual chat system to identify the last contacts of those who have tested positive for the virus.

According to a Bloomberg report on Sunday, the UAE has become the world’s most vaccinated country. It has given more than 15.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, with a vaccine distribution rate of 156.76 doses per 100 people – enough to cover 72.1 percent of its 10 million population based on the two-dose regimen.