Fully-vaccinated travellers arriving in the UAE will no longer be required to show a negative PCR test on arrival, in another step towards the return of ‘normal’ international travel.
Passengers travelling to the UAE will now only be required to present an approved vaccination certificate with a QR code.
For unvaccinated travellers, PCR requirements will remain in place. These travellers will still need to provide a negative PCR test conducted within 48 hours of departure.
The move to ditch PCR testing for fully jabbed travellers is part of a wider raft of rule changes across the country, including restaurants and bars back to 100% capacity and the wearing of masks outdoors now being optional.
In Abu Dhabi, the National Emergency Crisis & Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA) has removed the green list for travel and the requirement for a green Al Hosn pass to cross the border between Abu Dhabi and Dubai has also been scrapped.
However, the pass remains for those wishing to enter public spaces, such as malls and restaurants.
The UAE is not the only country to relax COVID-19 travel restrictions over the weekend.
The government of Iceland on Wednesday announced that it would be lifting all its remaining COVID-19 restrictions from Friday.
“We are getting our normal lives back,” Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir told journalists.
“Widespread societal resistance to COVID-19 is the main route out of the epidemic,” the health ministry said in a statement, citing infectious disease authorities.
“To achieve this, as many people as possible need to be infected with the virus as the vaccines are not enough, even though they provide good protection against serious illness,” it added.
Similarly, Poland’s government will lift most restrictions from March 1.
