UAE: Centres For Covid-19 Testing Closed Permanently

The lowering of infection rates and opening up of the economy had led the UAE administration to close down some of the Covid testing centers in different parts of the UAE. Most of the covid restrictions were also removed by last month as the rate of infection seems to be falling steadily. Now you can enter most of the public places in the UAE without the requirement of a PCR test and proof of vaccination that was provided through the Al Hosn app.

A total of 10 Covid-19 centers have been closed across the UAE

UAE had done close to twenty-five million Covid PCR tests during the whole of the Covid-19 phase. The Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (Seha) authorities said that since most of the countries are lifting their Covid restrictions and air travel also doesn’t require testing protocols like before, there is no demand for screening services and this has led to their closure.

Masks are no longer mandatory in indoor public spaces from September this year and the time period for quarantining infected public sector employees has been reduced to just five days. Students and teachers in schools need not wear masks but people employed in restaurants and other hotels are still mandated to wear them. 

The infection rate which stood at the range of thousand per day around the month of August has come down to around 150 during the last few weeks. This has led to an overall relaxation of covid related safety protocols and the closing of testing centers.

Seha will be closing down its nineteen drive-in centers and vaccination centers throughout Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Al Aamerah, Al Bahia, etc. Some centers in the northern regions like Al Khawaneej, Sharjah Fujairah, and Ras Al Khaimah will also be closed.   

Flights such as Emirates airline, Flydubai, and Etihad Airways also removed their rule to wear masks on the flight. It is an optional choice for the consumer. But at the same time, this rule doesn’t apply to individuals going out of Dubai or UAE. For them, the rule of the destination country applies and this should be kept in mind while traveling from or through the UAE.   

The UAE economy has made a surprisingly quick recovery from the pandemic situation and it is set to achieve a growth of 5.4 percent by year-end. The nation had shown an impressive 3.8 percent growth in 2021 and this was major because of the development policies carried out by the UAE administration.

It aimed at expanding its economy into diversified business and investment prospects that would help the economy gain swift momentum. 2023 is also looking bright for UAE as there are huge investments and resource allocations planned to keep the economy active.

The non-oil economy is also seeing encouraging results as it saw a healthy growth of 5.3 percent last year and is projecting 4.3 percent this year. The non-oil economy is one of the core priorities of the UAE administration as this holds the key to the future survival of the UAE.

The crowned prince of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan has been constantly creating innovative programs that lead Dubai and UAE into the global tech community. The metaverse initiative was one of the most appreciated initiatives taken by the Dubai administration under the guidance of Sheikh Hamdan. 

The health sector in UAE is also going into a more balanced working environment since the pandemic cases have reduced and people are healthy because of the consistent efforts of the Ministry of Health and Prevention, health departments across the UAE, and Healthline workers on the field.

The UAE administration was confident in lifting the covid restrictions as they felt that the residents of UAE had understood the importance of covid safety measures and personal health management which led to the fall of covid infections throughout the UAE.