UAE temporarily suspends entry of GCC nationals

The UAE has announced that it is temporarily banning the entry of GCC nationals into the country.

In a statement issued on Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said the decision would be in place until a pre-examination mechanism for Covid-19 is approved.

The decision took effect from Friday midnight, the ministry said.

Earlier on Friday the ministry had said that GCC nationals who wish to enter the UAE must take the Covid-19 test on arrival and home quarantine themselves for a period of 14 days.

It had said the move would be effective from Saturday, March 21, at 10am UAE time until further notice.

Those who do not have a place of residence in the country will be quarantined at designated places.

The UAE also launched a new hotline to assist residence visa holders currently outside the country. This move follows the UAE’s suspension of entry of all its valid visa holders, including residents who are currently abroad, for a renewable period of two weeks, beginning at 12pm on Thursday, March 19.

Read more: UAE launches hotline for residents who are overseas following entry suspension

The UAE already announced that it was suspending the issuing of visas on arrival for all nationalities, except for diplomatic passport holders.

Read: UAE to suspend visas on arrival from March 19 

On Thursday, the UAE confirmed 27 new coronavirus cases in the country, to take the total number of those infected to 140, of whom 31 patients are said to have fully recovered.