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Covid Green Pass: Abu Dhabi residents face issues as Alhosn app down

Abu Dhabi - NCEMA acknowledges the glitch, and work is in progress to fix the bug.

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Residents in Abu Dhabi have complained on Thursday (June 17) of a technical glitch while trying to access the Al Hosn mobile application (app).

The snag has been causing a lot of inconvenience to the residents and visitors as a green pass, which was rolled out on Tuesday (June 15), is mandatory in the UAE’s largest emirate to gain entry into public places.

The common complaints have been either the app not opening or a lack of update for over 18 hours.

The National Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA) tweeted about the technical glitch and also assured that work was in progress to fix the bug in the app.

The ‘green pass’ is mandatory for residents and visitors, aged above 16, to enter shopping malls, hotels, supermarkets, gymnasiums, restaurants, museums and other public places.

Asmiita Singh, an Abu Dhabi resident and an Indian expatriate, said she had to miss an important meeting at a hotel in Abu Dhabi on Thursday afternoon because she was denied entry into the facility because the app was not working on her smartphone.

“I’ve faced issues today while trying to access the app. Unfortunately, I had to miss important meetings today because of the technical snag,” she said.

“I tried accessing the app several times, but it failed to open. I tried turning off the phone, but that, too, was in vain. The app’s hotline number was inaccessible, as the line kept getting disconnected,” Singh added.

She said she had taken a PCR test on Wednesday (June 16) and had expected the negative result to reflect on the app on Thursday morning.

“Alas! That didn’t occur because of the technical glitch,” she added.

Mahd Shafik, another Abu Dhabi resident, experienced a similar issue and he was denied entry into Mushrif Mall on Thursday at around 2pm.

“I had not checked my Al Hosn app since this morning. And when I went to Mushrif Mall at 2pm, the app failed to open. The security guards turned me away, as I couldn’t show the green pass as per the new rule,” he said.

Noordin Sembuya, a Ugandan expat, said he had to cancel his lunch appointment with a friend at a restaurant because of the app’s technical glitch.

“I tried opening the app from 12:30pm before setting off for lunch, but it didn’t open. I had to cancel the appointment with my friend because there was no way I’d have been allowed to enter the restaurant located inside the hotel without showing the green pass,” said Sembuya.

The green pass is one of three colour codes that reflect on the app based on the Covid-19 vaccination status and PCR test result.

The other two colours are grey (PCR validity has ended); and red (PCR test result is positive).

Earlier, ‘Weqaya’, which was launched by the NCEMA, had said that the app needed to be updated frequently in a bid to avoid technical glitches.

“These types of apps often have some bugs and to keep them at bay, frequent updating is required,” Weqaya had said in a notification.

People, who are facing technical snags, have been urged to contact Al Hosn on the toll-free number 800-4676, or send an email to info@alhosnapp.ae.

ismail@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi