Emiratis banned from travelling to India, 13 other nations

DUBAI: UAE authorities have prohibited Emiratis from travelling to 14 countries, including India, amidst fears of the highly infectious Delta coronavirus variant.

Other countries in the list are Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Nigeria. The directive was issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation (MoFAIC) and the National Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA).

UAE diplomatic missions in all these countries, official delegations and previously authorised business and technical delegates were exempt from the decision. The authorities have also permitted travel for emergency treatment cases, with India being one of the most popular destinations among Emiratis for medical purpose.

While the COVID-19 infection numbers continue to be under control in the UAE, one out of three new cases were the Delta variant.

On Thursday, 1,675 new cases were reported, with 1,556 recoveries and eight deaths. (IANS)

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