Major changes have been made to Covid-19 restrictions in Abu Dhabi over the past week.
Face masks are now optional outside and quarantine for close contacts has been scrapped.
But what measures are still in place to protect the public?
Face masks
People no longer have to wear face masks outside in Abu Dhabi. However, face masks must still be worn in all public indoor areas, such as shopping malls and schools.
Rules on physical distancing also remain.
Close contacts
Close contacts of positive cases no longer have to quarantine.
People who come into close contact with a person with Covid now only have to test on day 1 and 7, or when they start showing symptoms.
Schools
Face masks remain for the time being, both indoors and outside.
But private schools in Abu Dhabi no longer require close contacts of Covid-19 cases to switch to remote learning and isolate.
Pupils can now continue to attend school in person as long as they have no symptoms. But they must take a test on day one and day four.
Teachers and employees who know they have been exposed to the virus must still take PCR tests for five consecutive days, in line with the latest government announcement.
Entering public places
The Al Hosn green pass remains mandatory to enter most public places in Abu Dhabi.
The validity of the green pass was reduced from 30 days to 14 at the start of December, when the Omicron wave took hold, meaning people had to take a PCR test every two weeks.
That two-week validity remains.
Positive cases
Tracking wristbands, which monitor the movement of people with Covid-19, are no longer used during home isolation in the emirate.
People who isolate at home can either wait out the 10 days, at which point the Al Hosn green pass will automatically revert back to green.
Or they can obtain two negative PCRs, at least 24 hours apart.
Once the Al Hosn pass reverts back to green, people are free to leave their homes.
The border
All border restrictions to enter the emirate from across the UAE have been scrapped.
People do not have to show the green pass entering Abu Dhabi from the border with Dubai.
They are also no longer subject to temperature screening with EDE scanners.
Travel
Travellers no longer need to take a PCR test on arrival at Abu Dhabi International Airport.
And travellers flying with Etihad no longer need a negative PCR test result to board flights, unless it is a requirement of their final destination. Etihad previously required a negative test from all passengers.
Unvaccinated travellers flying to the UAE must, however, continue to present a negative PCR test result taken within 48 hours of their departure, or display a certificate of Covid-19 recovery dated within 30 days of their flight.
Children under 16 are exempt from these requirements.
Abu Dhabi also scrapped its green list system and removed quarantine for all international travellers.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
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Sri Lanka v England
First Test, at Galle
England won by 211
Second Test, at Kandy
England won by 57 runs
Third Test, at Colombo
From Nov 23-27
Day 3, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Lahiru Gamage, the Sri Lanka pace bowler, has had to play a lot of cricket to earn a shot at the top level. The 29-year-old debutant first played a first-class game 11 years ago. His first Test wicket was one to savour, bowling Pakistan opener Shan Masood through the gate. It set the rot in motion for Pakistan’s batting.
Stat of the day – 73 Haris Sohail took 73 balls to hit a boundary. Which is a peculiar quirk, given the aggressive intent he showed from the off. Pakistan’s batsmen were implored to attack Rangana Herath after their implosion against his left-arm spin in Abu Dhabi. Haris did his best to oblige, smacking the second ball he faced for a huge straight six.
The verdict One year ago, when Pakistan played their first day-night Test at this ground, they held a 222-run lead over West Indies on first innings. The away side still pushed their hosts relatively close on the final night. With the opposite almost exactly the case this time around, Pakistan still have to hope they can salvage a win from somewhere.
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: BorrowMe (BorrowMe.com)
Date started: August 2021
Founder: Nour Sabri
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce / Marketplace
Size: Two employees
Funding stage: Seed investment
Initial investment: $200,000
Investors: Amr Manaa (director, PwC Middle East)
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MATCH INFO
BRIGHTON 0
MANCHESTER UNITED 3
McTominay 44'
Mata 73'
Pogba 80'
