Coronavirus: UAE will accept PCR tests from countries without approved screening centres


Kelly Clarke
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Passengers travelling to the Emirates from countries without a UAE-affiliated Covid-19 testing centre can instead be tested at locally approved clinics.

From Saturday, August 1, all passengers must secure a certificate from approved testing centres to prove they do not have the coronavirus before they board their flight.

If there is no Pure Health centre in the place they wish to fly from, airlines will provide a list of places approved by the government of that country.

Airlines will accept their results, allowing them to travel to the Emirates.

Pure Health, a UAE-based laboratory operator, has posted a list of clinics in more than 100 cities that are recognised by the UAE authorities.

If you cannot find one, you can contact your airline for advice.

The test results issued by a Pure Health-approved medical facility will be valid for 96 hours before departure. Results from other approved centres will be valid for 72 hours before travel.

The National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority said airlines have been made aware of the requirements and will accept passengers from countries that do not host a UAE-affiliated testing centre.

“Regarding countries that do not have centres listed on the digital platform [purehealth.ae] at this time, airlines will co-ordinate with residents wishing to return to the country in order that they can show a negative PCR examination result which has been taken no more than 72 hours from a centre approved in these countries,” the authority said.

Etihad added a feature to its website that enables customers to check whether the place they are travelling from has UAE-approved test centres.

Cities not on the list include Dublin, Manila, Athens and Amsterdam.

But the airline said travel was still possible through co-ordination with a country or city’s local health authority.

Depending on the city you enter, the airline will advise on how to obtain a valid certificate for travel. 

“If there are no approved Pure Health facilities in Ireland, you may arrange a Covid-19 PCR test with a government-approved medical facility,” it said.

“To make it easy, you’ll find information on government approved facilities from the Ireland Health Service website.”

As per the Emirates website, if the UAE government has not specified a designated laboratory in the country of origin, passengers can also “use an accredited lab in your country of departure”.

"If there is no designated lab, Emirates will accept a certificate from an accredited test lab recognised by the local market authority," an Emirates representative told The National.

Children under the age of 12 and people with disabilities are exempt from the PCR test.

Roy Cooper / The National
Roy Cooper / The National

In Abu Dhabi and the Northern Emirates, all passengers will be checked for the virus on arrival and must also present negative results of tests taken before flying.

Dubai will halt blanket testing of arriving passengers next week.

Instead, people travelling from only 29 countries will have to undergo a nasal swab when they land.

The countries on the list, released by Dubai Airports and Emirates airline, include places where cases are still rising rapidly, such as Russia and Brazil, while others lack approved testing centres.

To date, all passengers landing in Dubai have been tested when they landed at the airport but on Saturday this will stop.

Anyone who takes a test on arrival must isolate until they receive their results. Under Dubai’s rules, if the result is negative they no longer need to isolate.

According to federal rules, travellers must quarantine for 14 days, whatever the test result is, if they are in the other emirates.

Everyone who arrives in the country must download the Covid19 – DXB Smart App if they arrive in Dubai, or Al Hosn app if they land elsewhere in the UAE.

The app allows users to receive the results of their test, if they took one on arrival, and allows contact tracing teams to track the spread of the virus.

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Who is Allegra Stratton?

 

  • Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
  • Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
  • In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
  • The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
  • Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
  • She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
  • Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
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Sinopharm vaccine explained

The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades. 

“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.

"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."

This is then injected into the body.

"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.

"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."

The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.

Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.

“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.

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The biog

Family: Parents and four sisters

Education: Bachelor’s degree in business management and marketing at American University of Sharjah

A self-confessed foodie, she enjoys trying out new cuisines, her current favourite is the poke superfood bowls

Likes reading: autobiographies and fiction

Favourite holiday destination: Italy

Posts information about challenges, events, runs in other emirates on the group's Instagram account @Anagowrunning

Has created a database of Emirati and GCC sportspeople on Instagram @abeermk, highlight: Athletes

Apart from training, also talks to women about nutrition, healthy lifestyle, diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure

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Roger Federer's record at Wimbledon

1999 - 1st round

2000 - 1st round

2001 - Quarter-finalist

2002 - 1st round

2003 - Winner

2004 - Winner

2005 - Winner

2006 - Winner

2007 - Winner

2008 - Finalist

2009 - Winner

2010 - Quarter-finalist

2011 - Quarter-finalist

2012 - Winner

2013 - 2nd round

2014 - Finalist

2015 - Finalist

2016 - Semi-finalist

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Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo

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1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

The biog

Name: Younis Al Balooshi

Nationality: Emirati

Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn

Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design

Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE