Abu Dhabi border scanners for Covid-19 in place for commuters

Police using handheld EDE devices check motorists for signs of fever

Abu Dhabi border checks for Covid-19 in place for commuters on the E11 on Sunday, December 19. Chris Whiteoak / The National
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New checks designed to identify commuters with Covid-19 are in effect at the Abu Dhabi-Dubai border from Sunday morning.

Police have been stationed near the town of Ghantoot on the E11 road in the latest measures to control the spread of new cases.

Motorists stop at a gated checkpoint and officers use a mobile phone application to scan for signs of fever and other symptoms of Covid-19.

Anyone found to have signs of the virus is sent for a free antigen test at a nearby screening centre, with the results ready in 20 minutes.

People who reside in Abu Dhabi and test positive will be sent home to quarantine for 10 days. Drivers from outside Abu Dhabi must return home and alert the authorities in their home emirate.

The capital's new border controls mean a partial return to the border checks that were in place between July 2020 and September 2021.

Commuters are no longer required to show the results of a negative PCR test on the Al Hosn app, though they do require a green pass that to enter many public buildings in the capital.

2020 border checks - in pictures

Updated: December 20, 2021, 10:01 AM