COVID-19: UAE announces travel ban on unvaccinated citizens amid Omicron scare

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New Delhi: In view of the Omicron scare, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced a travel ban on unvaccinated citizens from January 10 with a requirement to obtain the booster dose for the fully vaccinated.

"Ban on Travel on UAE citizens unvaccinated with #Covid19 vaccine, starting Jan 10, 2022, with a requirement to obtain the booster dose for the fully vaccinated," said the country`s National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) in a tweet on Saturday (January 1, 2022).

#NCEMA and @MoFAICUAE: Ban on Travel on UAE citizens unvaccinated with #Covid19 vaccine, starting Jan 10, 2022, with a requirement to obtain the booster dose for the fully vaccinated. With an exemption for medically exempted from taking the vaccine, humanitarian & treatment cases pic.twitter.com/zUw1FoSLBt — NCEMA UAE (@NCEMAUAE) January 1, 2022

The authorities also stated that this order would not be applicable for those medically exempted from taking the vaccine, humanitarian and treatment cases.

The decision comes as the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 is rallying infections in a large number of countries and has surged the hospitalisations in the US and Europe.

The massive spread of the new variant of the coronavirus, surges in infections and hospitalisations have also led to the cancellation of a large number of flights globally as fear grows.