Dubai: As many as 73 health workers stuck in India were allowed to travel to the UAE with special approval from Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Aster DM Foundation said on Thursday.
“After the green signal given by DHA, a total of 73 health workers split into two groups left for the UAE on Wednesday,” the group said in a press release.
Gulf News had earlier done reports highlighting the need for giving special approvals for hundreds of healthcare workers stranded in India due to the ongoing COVID-19 entry restrictions which came into effect on April 25.
Gulf News learnt that private healthcare groups in the UAE had approached the authorities seeking special permission to fly their employees and newly recruited healthcare workers from India, following which some groups have been given special approvals.
Aster said the group’s employees who already reached Dubai include existing healthcare workers employed across different units of its hospitals and clinics network in UAE.
More to come
“There are still some more healthcare workers waiting to come back to UAE. Most of the existing healthcare professionals were at home on leave when COVID-19-related travel restrictions came into force. The team comprises of medical professionals having experience in intensive care units and expertise to treat COVID-19 patients, the group said.
Aster DM Healthcare said it approached DHA for special travel permission for a flight to bring its healthcare front liners who were unable to return from India to UAE.
“DHA provided the permission and forwarded the approved list of travellers to Emirates airlines.”
Necessary approvals
Dr Sherbaz Bichu, CEO of Aster Hospitals and Clinics, UAE said: “The team has all the necessary approvals from the foreign ministry. Our healthcare professionals have travelled from different parts of India — Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Maharashtra, Hyderabad, Madhya Pradesh to be present at Cochin and Bengaluru [airports] on 7 July for their international flights departing from India to UAE.”
“We express our heartfelt gratitude to Dubai Government, Dubai Health Authority, Dubai Airport Authority and Emirates Airlines for all the support extended to Aster in making this arrangement possible for us. It was critical for our staff to come back and fill the gaps across the network of hospitals in Dubai during this pandemic.” he added.
