Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed orders drive-through Covid-19 testing centres across the UAE

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, directed the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi on Monday to set up drive-through Covid-19 testing centres across the UAE, reported official news agency WAM.

Read: Video: UAE’s first drive-through Covid-19 testing unit

Over the next 10 days, test centres will open in Dubai, Sharjah (which will also serve Ajman and Umm al Qaiwain), Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Al Ain and Al Dhafra, and will be accessible to both citizens and residents of the UAE.

Further information regarding the contact details of the new centres and appointment procedures will be announced ahead of the opening, the report added.

The first drive-through coronavirus testing unit in the country was opened by the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA) in collaboration with the Department of Health Abu Dhabi at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, making the UAE only the fifth country in the world to feature such a facility.

The testing procedure includes a nasal swab and takes five minutes to complete with the patient seated in their vehicle itself.

Patients are notified of their results within six hours via an SMS and the SEHA app.

The drive-through unit in Abu Dhabi has a capacity to screen 600 patients a day.

Those who wish to be tested need to call 8001717 and participate in a pre-assessment screening by sharing details regarding their condition.

Patients suspected to have contracted the virus or deemed to be vulnerable (such as the elderly and pregnant women) will be prioritized and asked to proceed to the centre where they will be tested for free.

Those who do not fall under the at-risk category, but yet wish to be tested to reassure themselves, will have to do so by paying a fee of Dhs370.

The UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) announced on Sunday that it had carried out more than 220,000 Covid-19 laboratory tests across the UAE, resulting in a testing coverage of over 22,900 test per million people – the second highest test density in the world.

Read: Covid-19: UAE reports new 102 cases, one death

The ministry also announced the detection of 102 new cases of the infection within the UAE on March 29, taking the total number of those infected to 570, besides the death of a 47-year-old Arab woman too.