Coronavirus: UAE bars entry to travellers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka

General Civil Aviation Authority says decision affects all carriers

A Bangladeshi health worker takes a mouth swab to test for Covid-19 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. On Saturday, officials detected an Indian variant for the first time. AP Photo

A Bangladeshi woman mourns the death of her husband from Covid-19 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. On Saturday, health authorities said a variant from India was detected for the first time. AP Photo

People traverse a rope to board an overcrowded ferry to get home for Eid Al Fitr after government-imposed Covid-19 restrictions on public transport were enforced in Munshiganj, Bangladesh. Reuters

People wait to board a ferry to reach their hometowns ahead of Eid Al Fitr in Munshiganj, Bangladesh. AFP

Deserted streets during Eid Al Fitr mark a nine-day shutdown to prevent a surge in Covid-19 cases in Islamabad. AFP

All business activities are closed, including during Eid Al Fitr holidays, amid a third wave of coronavirus cases in Larkana, Pakistan. EPA

A policeman speaks with commuters in a closed market area in Lahore, Pakistan, after a nine-day shutdown to prevent a surge in coronavirus cases during Eid Al Fitr. AFP

A mass cremation takes place at the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal. Reuters

Nepalese army personnel wear personal protective equipment at Pashupati cremation centre in Kathmandu, Nepal. EPA

A Covid-19 patient is treated outside a hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal, as Covid-19 wards run at full capacity. EPA

People wait to get a dose of the Chinese-made Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine in Panadura, a suburb of Sri Lanka's capital Colombo. AFP

Police officers in Colombo, Sri Lanka, detain a person near a main market for not wearing a mask, breaking Covid-19 rules and regulations. Reuters

The UAE will bar entry to all travellers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka from Wednesday night.

The decision affects incoming flights and all carriers, excluding transit services.

The General Authority of Civil Aviation and National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA) issued the decision on Tuesday.

The last flights to be allowed entry to the UAE will be at 11.59pm on Wednesday, May 12. Officials cited Covid-19 as the reason, without elaborating.

In Bangladesh on Saturday officials confirmed the first case of an Indian virus variant. That followed weeks where the South African variant was largely seen in patients.

In Sri Lanka, a similar discovery was made of India's B.1.617 strain in a person who returned from India and was screened at a quarantine centre in Colombo.

And in Pakistan on Monday, the government halted access to many tourism areas until May 16 due to the recent surge there.

The UAE announced last month a ban on entry from India to guard against the spread of the highly contagious Indian variant.

The move has implications for UAE residents who are set to travel abroad for the Eid Al Fitr holidays this week, particularly to Sri Lanka, one of the most popular getaway choices.

"This decision also includes extending the suspension of entry for travellers who were in these four countries in the 14-day period prior to arrival in the UAE," NCEMA said.

"Flights between the four countries will continue to allow the transport of passengers from the UAE to Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka, and the transfer of exempted groups from these countries to the UAE who have applied for exemption.

"Exempted travellers, including UAE citizens, those on diplomatic missions accredited by the four countries, official delegations, those traveling on business planes and golden residence holders, will be subject to precautionary measures that include a 10-day quarantine and PCR testing at the airport and on the fourth and eighth days after entering the country.

"The required PCR testing period prior to travel has been reduced from 72 to 48 hours and all tests must be administered by accredited laboratories that issue results carrying a QR code."

The General Authority of Civil Aviation said travellers from these four countries, transiting through other countries, are required to provide proof of a period of stay of no less than 14 days to be allowed into the UAE.

Cargo flights are excluded from the ban.

Emirates launches Covid-19 aid flights for India - in pictures

Aid items, including multipurpose tents supplied by the World Health Organisation, being loaded at the warehouses in International Humanitarian City in Dubai. Photos by Antonie Robertson / The National

An Emirates SkyCargo will fly the relief items to Delhi on Thursday to help stem the surge in Covid-19 cases in India.

Jehad Abdulmaula, logistics and supply chain expert at IHC in Dubai, gives media a tour of the refrigeration facilities which stores Covid-19 medicine destined for India.

The shipment, the first of three in the next week, is part of an Emirates initiative to offer cargo free-of-charge to NGOs. The first cargo flight will carry mainly multipurpose tents, worth an estimated $10,000 each.

Teams will work through the day and night over the next few days to prepare the packages at warehouses in International Humanitarian City, where dozens of aid agencies are based.

As India's devastating Covid-19 crisis mounted last month, countries around the world have been sending emergency medical supplies to help curb the virus.

Initial efforts will focus on mobilising and sending out aid from locally-based NGOs, but the initiative is open to agencies based overseas too.

Workers in Dubai load trucks with aid items which will fly out to India later this week.

A warehouse stacked high with relief items such as PPE, oxygen cylinders and diagnostic equipment.

Robert Blanchard, logistics and supply operations manager for WHO - Dubai, left, and Nabil Sultan, divisional senior vice president for Emirates SkyCargo.