Covid: UAE suspends entry of passengers from Indonesia, Afghanistan

Dubai - The decision will go into effect from July 11.

The UAE has announced the suspension of entry for travellers and transit passengers from Indonesia and Afghanistan on national and foreign flights.

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The announcement was made by the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Emergency Management Authority (NCEMA) in the UAE.

The suspension will start from July 11 and this includes the suspension of the entry of travellers who were in these countries 14 days before coming to the UAE.

Transit and cargo flights to and from these countries will continue as usual, the GCAA said in a statement.

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However, the authorities said a few categories are exempted from the travel restriction. The excluded category should present a negative Covid-19 test obtained within 48 hours of departure, a mandatory 10-day quarantine and a PCR test at the airport as well as another test on the fourth and eighth days of entering the country.

According to the decision, the period of the required PCR test is reduced from 72 hours to 48 hours, provided that the tests are issued by accredited laboratories and carrying the QR Code.

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UAE citizens are prohibited from travelling to Indonesia and Afghanistan, except for the country's diplomatic missions in these countries, emergency treatment cases, official delegations, and previously authorised economic and scientific delegations.

The authority called on all travellers affected by the decision to follow up and communicate with the airlines to amend and schedule their flights and to ensure their safe return to their final destinations without any delay or other obligations.

People who are exempted from the decision include:

>UAE nationals and their first-degree relatives

>Diplomatic missions between the UAE and the two countries

>Official delegations

>Businessmen after getting prior approvals- and golden and silver residency permit holders

>Holders of essential jobs according to the classification of the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA)

>Staffs of UAE embassies in the two countries and crews of foreign freight and transit planes

• Dubai