Abu Dhabi entry rules: Al Hosn app must to drive to Capital

The local authorities in Abu Dhabi are leaving nothing to chance from now onwards. With the number of Covid-19 positive cases consistently remaining high and inching towards the 4,000-mark, stricter measures are set to be followed starting next month.

From February 1, people will have to show Covid-19 negative test results via the contact tracing Al Hosn app and not SMS notification. In the past, people had been urged to download the app but it wasn’t made mandatory. Al Hosn app will not only show the test result but highlight the number of days since a person landed at the airport from abroad. The information in the app will assist officers posted at the border to ascertain the quarantine norms to be followed for a particular person.

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People flying in from abroad, including families, are reportedly sent to institutional quarantine in the industrial area of Mussafah among other centres.

Al Hosn app will essentially plug a loophole in the system. Currently, people returning from abroad to Dubai or other emirates, can take a fresh test after exiting the airport and show the new result at the border to avoid quarantine norms in Abu Dhabi. But this isn’t possible from Monday as the app will reflect the number of days passed since a person has landed at the airport.

Contact tracing norms are made mandatory at a time when the new strains of coronavirus are reported to be spreading faster in many parts of the world. And the UAE is taking extra precautions to contain the spread of the virus in the country. So, Abu Dhabi Police has urged people entering the Capital to activate the app.

Additionally, anyone taking the DPI test must enter Abu Dhabi within 24 hours of receiving the negative result. But the DPI test method cannot be used to enter for a consecutive time.

Also, those entering Abu Dhabi with a DPI test and staying for more than 48 hours must take a PCR test on the third day of entry, and on the seventh day if staying for seven days or more.

There is no change in the 48-hour window for people entering the emirate with a negative PCR test result. They must take a PCR test on the fourth day and eighth day if they stay for eight days or more.

However, these procedures don’t apply to volunteers of the Phase 3 Clinical Trials and those vaccinated as part of national vaccination programmes who have received status of gold star or ‘E’ icons on Al Hosn app. It must be noted that both the categories of fully vaccinated people, i.e., those who have taken both the doses, will receive such special symbols.

For the ‘E’ sign, people must have completed a minimum of 28 days after taking the second dose. However, the special symbols will appear only after a person takes a PCR test. And the validity of the symbol is seven days. If a person has to continue enjoying the travel benefits, then another PCR test is required.

ashwani@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai
• Abu Dhabi