The United Arab Emirates reported fewer than 400 coronavirus cases for the first time in more than a year, with just two weeks to go for Dubai Expo – the biggest in-person event since the pandemic began.
The Gulf nation reported 391 cases on Sunday. Infections have been dropping steadily in the country, which has rolled out one of the fastest vaccination campaigns in the world.
The Ministry of Health conducts 368,242 tests as part of its plans to expand the scope of the tests, and reveals 391 new cases of the #Coronavirus, 505 recoveries and 2 death cases due to complications. #TogetherWeRecover
— NCEMA UAE (@NCEMAUAE) September 19, 2021
Abu Dhabi on Sunday abolished a requirement for visitors coming from other parts of the country to show a Covid-19 negative test as infection rate in the UAE capital fell to 0.2 percent of total tests.
The Abu Dhabi Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Committee has updated the procedure to enter Abu Dhabi emirate from within the UAE, and has approved the cancellation of Covid-19 testing requirements to enter, effective Sunday, 19 September 2021. pic.twitter.com/KBtf3tYPmt
— مكتب أبوظبي الإعلامي (@admediaoffice) September 18, 2021
The decline in cases will come as a boost for Dubai, one of the UAE’s seven emirates, as it gears up to host the Expo event that starts in October. The exhibition is expected to attract 25 million visits over six months.
Visitors to the event will now be required to provide vaccination certificates or get tested to enter the event, under new rules issued days after organisers said inoculations weren’t needed.
The Expo, initially set for October 2020, was postponed for a year as a result of the global pandemic.
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