UAE eases face mask rules ahead of Expo 2020 Dubai. Details here

The UAE had required masks in all public places and among members of different households in private vehicles.

While adhering to a two-metre distancing rule, masks can now be removed when doing exercise in public places, on beaches and at poolsides, in hair salons and in medical centres when being treated.

The change follows a steady decrease in reported daily cases since early July, the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority said in a statement carried by state news agency WAM.

Local authorities should display signs where it is permitted to remove masks, it added.

Dubai, one of the UAE’s seven emirates, opens the Expo 2020 world fair on Oct. 1 which it hopes will bring in 25 million domestic and foreign visitors.

Everyone attending Expo over 18 will have to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or test negative to enter.

Expo 2020 Dubai begins on October 1, 2021, and continues for 182 days until March 31, 2022.

Hailed as the most diverse World Expo in history, Expo 2020 will have something for every visitor, including exceptional entertainment and culinary experiences, innovation, architecture and culture, as well as presenting the world’s most impactful global incubator for new ideas,while offering a powerful launch pad for businesses.

Official tickets can be purchased on www.tripxoxo.com/dubai-expo/ starting 01st Aug, 2021.

Earlier, Ambassador of UAE to India Dr Ahmed Albanna had announced that UAE had eased off procedures and coronavirus protocols for entering the country for Indians.

Albanna also said that all visitors from India whether they have tourist visas or work visas will be allowed to enter the UAE with eased protocols of coronavirus.

Albanna further said that around 25 million visitors are expected to participate in Dubai Expo 2020 and the presence of over 46,000 organisations from more than 180 countries is registered to do business in the event.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates reported fewer than 400 coronavirus cases for the first time in more than a year, with just two weeks to go for Dubai Expo — the biggest in-person event since the pandemic began.

The Gulf nation reported 391 cases on Sunday. Infections have been dropping steadily in the country, which has rolled out one of the fastest vaccination campaigns in the world.

Abu Dhabi on Sunday abolished a requirement for visitors coming from other parts of the country to show a Covid-19 negative test as infection rate in the UAE capital fell to 0.2% of total tests.

The decline in cases will come as a boost for Dubai, one of the UAE’s seven emirates, as it gears up to host the Expo event that starts in October. The exhibition is expected to attract 25 million visits over six months.

Visitors to the event will now be required to provide vaccination certificates or get tested to enter the event, under new rules issued days after organizers said inoculations weren’t needed.

With inputs from agecnies