DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Filipinos going to the UAE for work, visit or even just as transfer or transit passengers must now need to show certification that they have tested negative for COVID-19 before they can be allowed to board their flight. They will also be required to undergo the same test upon arrival.
The move is part of the UAE’s efforts to slowly re-open the economy, albeit with extreme caution to pre-empt the spread of the coronavirus, especially considering that new cases have been on the decline. Following about three months of anti-COVID measures, including city-wide quarantines.
It covers nationals from 12 other countries including the USA.
Passengers must fill up a declaration form before embarking, according to an announcement issued by Aviation Business Management Team (ABMT) of Dubai Airports, operator of the Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Dubai World Central (DWC) also known as the Al Maktoum International Airport.
The move stemmed from a policy directive by the COVID-19 Command and Control Centre, which oversees and coordinates all actions to contain the coronavirus pandemic in the UAE. The command has decided to start welcoming visitors and tourists from overseas beginning July 7, 2020.
“Please be advised that an updated travel advisory received from Dubai COVID-19 Command and Control Centre states that all arriving, transfer and transit passengers from the…listed countries are required to carry out COVID-19 test prior to their departure from the country of origin.
“Only passengers with a negative COVID-19 certificate shall be accepted by the airline,” stated the Dubai Airports ABMT announcement.
Those flying to the UAE were urged to contact the UAE embassy their home country to inquire about the list of approved COVID-19 test laboratories.
According to Dubai Airports, passengers arriving at DXB and DWC will have to undergo another COVID-19 test as part of the protocol.
A quarantine undertaking form will have to be filled up by arriving passengers if required to undergo quarantine, according to the announcement.
Meantime, other than the Philippines and USA, other countries whose nationals are required to present a negative COVID-19 test certification prior to boarding are: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, Sudan, Tanzania and Turkey.
The list is subject to change based on updates from the World Health Organization (WHO), the announcement stated.
The Philippines has recently been experiencing a surge in the number of COVID-19 infections with 57,545 cases and 1,603 deaths reported as of press time.
On the other hand, new COVID-19 cases in the UAE has been on the decline in recent weeks.
According to the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP), the number of new COVID-19 infections in the UAE has gone down from 700 on July 4, 2020 to 344 as of July 13. Running total on the COVID cases as of the same day was 55,198 with 334 fatalities.
The Daily Bread 