Latest: How and where to get a Covid-19 test in Dubai and across the UAE
Residents in Dubai can now get a PCR nasal swab for as little as Dh50 at some walk-in and and drive-through screening tents across the city.
Prices for tests vary in the emirate but have dropped over the past few months as Covid-19 testing was stepped up across the country.
Screening tents operated by Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (Seha) in Dubai, including centres in Mina Rashed, City Walk and Al Khawaneej, are offering the test for Dh50.
The price is slightly higher at some private hospitals and clinics in the emirate, however facilities are not allowed to charge more than Dh150 per test, the Dubai Health Authority said earlier this year.
Tests remain free of charge for those suspected of being infected with the virus, as well as those in vulnerable groups, including people with existing medical conditions and the elderly.
Most testing centres in the city offer walk-in appointments and now guarantee results within 24 hours.
In some clinics, patients have the option to pay an additional charge for an express service to get test results within a few hours.
In line with safety measures, some passengers travelling to Dubai have to take a mandatory Covid-19 test before they fly.
Further details regarding the criteria for flying, including which destinations require what, can be found on airlines' dedicated websites.
More than 75 million PCR tests have been conducted to date, making the UAE one of the top global testers per capita.
Here is a list of some hospitals and clinics offering PCR testing.
Menalabs Drive-through tent, Dubai
Price Dh110 for same-day appointment (results within 24 hours)
Appointment Drive-through (testing tent on premises off Umm Suqeim street)
Opening times 7am to midnight
Location Umm Suqeim street, Dubai
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Seha tents, Dubai
Price Dh50 for same-day appointment (results within 24 hours)
Appointment Drive-through
Opening times Sunday to Saturday: 10am to 8pm
Location Mina Rashed, City Walk and Al Khawaneej
_______________
Mediclinic, Deira (walk-in)
Price Dh150 (results within 24 hours)
Appointment Walk-in, appointment basis
Opening times 9am to 8pm
Location Deira, Dubai
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NMC Royal Hospital
Price Dh85 (results within 24 hours)
Appointment By appointment only
Opening times 8am to midnight
Location Dubai Investment Park, Dubai
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Prime Medical Centre
Price Dh150 (results within 24 hours)
Appointment Walk-in (via main entrance). No appointment necessary
Opening times 9am to 7pm Saturday to Thursday; 2.30pm to 8pm on Friday
Location Motor City, Dubai
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
German plea
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the German parliament that. Russia had erected a new wall across Europe.
"It's not a Berlin Wall -- it is a Wall in central Europe between freedom and bondage and this Wall is growing bigger with every bomb" dropped on Ukraine, Zelenskyy told MPs.
Mr Zelenskyy was applauded by MPs in the Bundestag as he addressed Chancellor Olaf Scholz directly.
"Dear Mr Scholz, tear down this Wall," he said, evoking US President Ronald Reagan's 1987 appeal to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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The schedule
December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club
December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq
December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm
December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition
December 13: Falcon beauty competition
December 14 and 20: Saluki races
December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm
December 16 - 19: Falconry competition
December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am
December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am
December 22: The best herd of 30 camels
The view from The National
