Dubai: The UAE health sector announced that attendance of all events, exhibitions, activities and events, including sports, cultural, social and artistic, is restricted to vaccine recipients and participants in clinical trials of the vaccine only.
This is in addition to the requirement to present a negative PCR test result within a maximum of 48 hours prior to the date of the event. The UAE is also the first country globally in the number of vaccination doses administered per 100 people in the total population.
The new update was announced in the regular media briefing by the National Crisis & Emergency Management Authority (NCEMA) on Tuesday evening. The authority added that according the new guidelines, the letter E or the gols star should be visible on attendees' Al Hosn app to prove their vaccination status.
These rules will come into effect starting June 6, the authority said on Twitter.
The UAE health authority also said that over 78 per cent of the eligible population in the UAE have been vaccinated. Out of which, 84.59 per cent of the elderly and at risk (over 60) population have also been vaccinated as of Tuesday.
Booster dose
UAE’s health sector spokesperson Dr Farida Al Hosani had announced earlier the booster shot will be given six months after the second dose. In today's briefing, the authority said that the priority for the booster dose would be for people over the age of 60 or those with comorbidities as these categories are the most vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19.
The people eligible for the booster dose will be determined based on an evaluation by a medical team. the evaluation will be done based on an appointment system. The booster dose is expected to further strengthen UAE's immunisation efforts, especially in light of new virus mutations rising across the world.
With the rise of new mutants of the COVID-19 virus, it is imperative, the authoruty added, that people should get themselves evaluated and re-evaluated if symptoms of the infection persist even though the test result is negative for COVID.
The authority called for the cooperation of all entities in battling the spread of COVID-19 by following the regulations and rules, and by getting vaccinated if eligible for it.
