Coronavirus: Quarantine rules for Dubai arrivals clarified

On arrival in Dubai, residents and Emiratis will be tested for Covid-19 and must quarantine for 14 days

Visitors take photos from At The Top, Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Reem Mohammed / The National

Staff of Hafiz Mustafa in facemasks at their shop in The Dubai Mall. Reem Mohammed / The National

Babki sanitises the railing at the Ice Rink in The Dubai Mall. Reem Mohammed / The National

Signs requiring people to social distance at Dubai Mall’s Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo. Reem Mohammed / The National

Skating shoes are sanitised at the Ice Rink in Dubai Mall. Reem Mohammed / The National

A staff with the parrots at Dubai Mall’s Aquarium and Underwater Zoo. Reem Mohammed / The National

A staff holds a thermometer at Dubai Mall’s Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo. Reem Mohammed / The National

Signs requiring people to social distance at Dubai Mall’s Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo. Reem Mohammed / The National

A woman skates at Dubai Mall’s Ice Rink. Reem Mohammed /The National

Signs requiring people to social distance at Dubai Mall’s Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo. Reem Mohammed / The National

General view the safety rules at Times Square Centre in Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Green planet biologist Sara Stevens with an Umbrella Cockatoo at The Green Planet. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Green planet biologist Peter Njoroge holds a Blue tongued skink. Chris Whiteoak / The National

The Green Planet has opened with Covid-19 measures in place. Chris Whiteoak / The National

A person wearing protective face mask during the hot and humid weather in Al Satwa area in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Dubai’s skyline seen from At The Top, Burj Khalifa. Reem Mohammed / The National

Residents and Emiratis flying into Dubai will be required to quarantine for 14 days, but procedures for tourists are still under review throughout the country.

In a set of guidelines issued last week, Dubai Tourism said returning residents and citizens will be given the choice to either quarantine in a private home or a hotel.

Travellers will be informed about the requirement at the time of booking their stay in the emirate, and will be offered the option to book hotels which qualify for quarantine.

On arrival in Dubai, travellers will be tested for Covid-19 and asked where they would like to quarantine.

Anyone who opts for home quarantine in a private address must meet certain safety requirements. If they cannot, they will have to stay in a hotel.

During a hotel quarantine, extra charges for room disinfection will be blocked during check-in in case visitors develop the virus during their stay.

Meals will be provided three times a day, if booked in advance. If not, visitors will be required to eat takeaways, which they will be required to pay for online.

They must also clean their own rooms.

Travellers will be told they may be required to wear a face mask and gloves in public areas and maintain social distancing of 2m at all times.

They will have access to a remote consultation session with a doctor through a mobile app. After 14 days, anyone who opted for a hotel quarantine must check out.

Anyone wishing to quarantine “at home” – which may not necessarily be their own home but a private property – must have access to a separate room with a private bathroom.

Other members of the household should not be vulnerable to developing complications of the virus. And they must also have a working number they can be contacted on as well as access to a first aid kit.

They must live completely separate from other household members and, if they have to leave the room, they have to wear a surgical mask at all times.

Anyone entering the country must be tested for Covid-19 on arrival, download the Covid-19 DXB app and complete a signed undertaking to comply with all regulations.

Earlier, Dubai Tourism indicated that tourists would have to undergo mandatory self-isolation but has since told The National that protocols for visitors are pending.

This month, Sheikh Hamdan shared an image of a First Class Emirates flight ticket with his name on it, set for London Heathrow and announced “coming soon”.

He described Dubai's economic fortunes as "taking off again," sending an optimistic message to the world that it had "weathered the storm".

The emirate, which imposed some of the strictest controls across the UAE to stem the spread of Covid-19 in the earliest days of the pandemic, is beginning to return to normal.

Businesses, malls and many entertainment venues are once again operating at 100 per cent capacity, with social distancing and other precautions designed to restrict the spread of the virus still in place.