Abu Dhabi: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) ranked number 1 in Bloomberg’s COVID Resilience Ranking, proving once more its mettle in ensuring the safety of its residents and managing crises, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported on Tuesday.
According to the report, UAE outperformed Europe in terms of containing the pandemic, naming it as the best place to live, with the emergence of the Omicron variant.
The COVID resilience ranking is a monthly snapshot of where the virus is handled most effectively with the least social and economic disruption.
UAE has emerged as “one of the most consistent performers” with daily cases staying below a hundred per day since mid-October, deaths being rare and the vaccination rate reaching over 200 doses per 100 people.
Omicron virus: What are the UAE travel rules?
Countries around the world have closed their borders with African countries after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Omicron a variant of concern on Friday, November 26, 2021.
UAE has imposed travel restrictions from seven southern African countries due to concerns over the new Covid-19 variant. Travellers from these countries would need to stay in a third country for at least 14 days before flying to the UAE.
UAE nationals, diplomatic missions, official delegations between UAE from the seven countries and Golden Visa holders are exempted from the decision.
Travel protocols for the exempted categories of travellers?
- They must present a negative result of a COVID-19 test conducted within 48 hours of departure.
- They must also undergo a rapid PCR test at the airport within six hours of departure and another PCR test on arriving in the UAE. A 10-day quarantine and a PCR test on the ninth day of entering the country are required for UAE nationals, diplomatic missions and Golden Visa holders.
- However, official delegations are required to quarantine at the airport until the test result is received for them to continue their mission in UAE without the 10-day quarantine.