Abu Dhabi to exempt service industry workers from PCR tests after Covid-19 vaccination


Gillian Duncan
  • English
  • Arabic

Service industry workers in Abu Dhabi will no longer have to get regular PCR tests once they take a Covid-19 vaccine.

The decision covers all employees in restaurants, coffee shops, supermarkets, bakeries, groceries, malls, commercial centres, butcheries, vegetable and fruit retailers.

Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (Added) set out the move in a post on Instagram.

It said any business that does not have a vaccinated workforce must continue to have staff screened for the virus every 14 days.

Those businesses must also cover the cost of the tests, which is about Dh85 per person in government-run screening centres.

The Sinopharm vaccine is free and available across the capital and other emirates.

The new decision comes into force on January 10, the department said.

The owners of the economic establishments in the emirate are directed "to conduct all their workers' PCR examination every 14 days, and the establishments must bear the test fees, with an exemption for the workers who received the Covid-19 vaccine, which is available for free in the vaccination centres", it said.

“These directions are in line with the Covid-19 preventative measures issued by relative authorities in Abu Dhabi, and aim to create a safe and healthy environment while limiting the effects of the pandemic.”

Sinopharm vaccine is available to everyone in the UAE and it's free.

It was approved for public use by regulators on December 9 after Phase 3 trials found it was 86 per cent effective against the virus.

That is slightly higher than the rate claimed by Sinopharm recently, at 79.34 per cent.

An executive of China National Biotec Group (CNBG), which developed the vaccine, said the different efficacy results quoted are both “real and valid”.

Yang Xiaoming, chairman at Sinopharm unit’s CNBG said countries have different standards and procedures in diagnosing patients, and the final results of Covid-19 case identification were different.

"Therefore, there were differences between the comprehensive multi-country data we reviewed and the protection rate data previously evaluated by the UAE and Bahrain," Mr Xiaoming told the Global Times, a Chinese newspaper.

“But these two results are both real and valid.”

China recently approved Sinopharm's vaccine, the first jab developed by CNBG to receive the green light for widespread use in the country.

China is planning to vaccinate 50 million people against the coronavirus before the peak Chinese New Year travel season begins.

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Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest

Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.

Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.

Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.

Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.

Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.

Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia

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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

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Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history

Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)

Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.

 

Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)

A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.

 

Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)

Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.

 

Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)

Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.

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