Web Report
Expatriates in the UAE and Emiratis were asked to foreign travel as airports stepped up checks on arriving passengers.
The UAE Ministry of Health said that returning residents may be tested at the airport and – depending on their travel history – be placed in 14-day quarantine at home, the Ministry of Health said. Tourists from a range of countries, including high-risk outbreak areas, can also expect checks.
Basic tests involve walking past thermal scanners, which allow medical officials to spot raised body temperature, potentially caused by fever. Some airports use handheld temperature scanners placed on a passenger’s forehead, which works in the same way and takes moments.
If a person does travel, there will be preventative measures at the point of re-entry
Those found with high temperatures may be subject to a nasal swab, which is then placed into a solution. Passengers may be held back until the results are ready. Any travellers who test positive would be taken to a medical facility and monitored.
In a video interview with local media, Dr Manal Al Taryam, a senior official at Dubai Health Authority, said “all passengers” are thermal scanned discreetly as they walk through the airport to ensure “everyone entering Dubai” is virus-free.
In other developments on Thursday, the Ministry of Health confirmed a new case of the virus in the UAE, in a 17-year-old Emirati student.
The ministry said the patient was receiving medical care but showed no symptoms.
Earlier in the day parents said children at Indian High School, the largest school in the Gulf, were tested as a precaution.
The authorities have not identified where an Indian pupil, 16, studied but on Wednesday night said she contracted the virus from a parent who had been abroad.
Iran limited travel between major cities amid more than 3,500 cases and at least 107 deaths, while Italy, where about 3,000 people are infected, closed schools and universities for two weeks.
Dubai Police advise travellers from high-risk countries to allow three hours for health screenings
The latest travel advice from the UAE authorities came ahead of a month-long school closure from Sunday.
The statement read: “The Ministry of Health and Prevention has urged citizens and residents to avoid travelling abroad due to the spread of Covid-19 in multiple countries.
“Those who travel may face preventative measures upon their return to the UAE – at the discretion of competent authorities – including undergoing medical checks at the airport, and a 14-day quarantine.
“Those who test positive will be transferred to a designated health facility for treatment and quarantine to ensure their safety and to avoid contact with others.”
Officials said they were taking a series of measures to prevent the spread of the virus, which has been confirmed in nearly 30 patients in the UAE.
“Among the most prominent of these efforts is the distribution of the medical guide to health and governmental facilities and the private sector, in addition to other sectors such as education, borders and tourism, and the provision of isolation rooms in all the hospitals, as well as placing thermal detectors on all air, land and sea ports,” the ministry said.
Earlier, on Wednesday, Dubai Airports officials said seven gates were set aside to handle oncoming flights and screen passengers travelling from four high-risk destinations.
All passengers arriving at Dubai International Airport and Dubai World Central from Beijing, Syria, Lebanon and Italy will be checked using thermal screening, said Damian Ellacott, vice president of operations at the Airport Operations Control Centre.
It is not clear if the list of countries has expanded since the announcement on Thursday.
Concern over the spread of covid-19 has led to a surge in holiday cancellations among UAE residents.
Even before the government’s advice on Thursday, travel agents were cancelling or re-booking overseas trips for local residents.
“Right now we are caught up processing refunds and processing date change requests from clients,” said Fardan Haneef, operations manager at Deira Travel and Tourist Agency, which has 14 branches.
“The virus outbreak has impacted both leisure and business traffic.
“A lot of people have altered their holiday plans and have opted to stay in the UAE to safeguard themselves.
“Those that are opting for date changes are looking to travel in the next few months, around August time.”
Agents said there were relatively few cancellations when the virus was contained to China, but the spread has predictably led to caution, with 77 countries now impacted by the virus.
Mr Haneef said the majority of its clientele come from South Asia and have mainly cancelled travel plans to “Europe, India, Thailand and Saudi Arabia”.
Most airlines that cancelled flights or adhered to government-imposed travel restrictions offered refunds or date changes, he said.
