The United Arab Emirates (UAE) banned citizens who have not been injected with the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine from flying abroad. It also mandated fully vaccinated Emiratis to get the COVID-19 booster dose as a requirement for overseas travel.
According to the state-owned Emirati News Agency (WAM), the new mandate will be effective starting Jan. 10, 2022. WAM cited the country's National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation as sources for the new mandate.
However, WAM mentioned two exemptions on the ban on unvaccinated citizens. The prohibition would be lifted in "humanitarian cases" and in instances where Emiratis need to travel abroad for medical treatment. Foreign workers and citizens who have secured a medical exemption from the vaccine are likewise exempted from the ban.
The two agencies also mandated that fully vaccinated citizens would need to get injected with the booster dose for them to be eligible to travel. According to WAM, the measures were devised to "ensure that health and safety are prioritized."
The UAE is the latest country to announce new rules amid a rise in COVID-19 cases there. It confirmed 2,556 new infections, 908 recoveries and one death on Jan. 1, 2022. Based on data from Johns Hopkins University as of Jan. 6, 2022, the country has a total of 774,897 cases and 2,170 deaths.
Meanwhile, figures from Our World in Data showed that more than 90 percent of the Emirati population have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. It also showed that about 34 percent of the UAE's population had received the vaccine booster dose as of Dec. 24, 2021.
Tyler Durden of ZeroHedge wrote about the UAE's new mandate in a Jan. 2 article. "Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UAE has imposed restrictions on its denizens – leaving those who refuse the vaccine to languish in a kind of second-class citizen limbo. And now, they won't even be allowed to leave the UAE as the tiny petro-state decrees that its citizens who aren't fully vaccinated can no longer travel abroad," he wrote. (Related: In Israel, refusing coronavirus vaccination means your life is over.)
UAE following the footsteps of Kuwait
The UAE's decision to ban unvaccinated citizens comes almost half a year after Kuwait imposed a similar mandate. Kuwait announced a travel ban on unvaccinated citizens last July 27, 2021 – with the ban becoming effective on Aug. 1 of the same year. The prohibition announced by the country's Center for Government Communication (CGC) followed the relaxation of some COVID-19 restrictions that time.
CGC Head Tareq Al-Mezrem said that aside from being prohibited from overseas travel, unvaccinated Kuwaitis will only be allowed to visit a limited number of establishments from Aug. 1, 2021 onward. These include food and beverage outlets, government buildings, medical facilities, pharmacies and consumer cooperative societies.
A day before the announcement, Al-Mezrem announced the lifting of several COVID-19 restrictions in Kuwait. Several activities resumed, but only the vaccinated citizens were permitted to take part. Special activities for children also resumed starting Sept. 1, 2021, but only vaccinated kids were allowed to participate.
The CGC did outline several exemptions to the travel ban on unvaccinated citizens. It does not apply to Kuwaitis who present a certificate that they cannot be vaccinated and expectant women who show proof of pregnancy from the Ministry of Health. Children under 16 years old are likewise exempted from the ban. (Related: Kuwait bans overseas travel for unvaccinated people.)
In case unvaccinated Kuwaitis decide to travel, the CGC mandate says they must get injected with any of the four vaccine candidates – Pfizer, Moderna, Janssen and AstraZeneca – the country has approved. They must also verify their vaccination status using the Immune Mobile App.
The app will show a red color for unvaccinated individuals and those who only have at least one dose for less than 14 days. It will display a green color with the word "vaccinated" once the 14-day immunity period is achieved. They must present the green "vaccinated" message before they can travel.
Furthermore, the CGC said Kuwaitis who wish to travel abroad – fully vaccinated or not – must hold health insurance during the duration of their trip. The health insurance should also cover COVID-19 treatments.
Watch the video below in which Dr. Peter McCullough discussed the so-called "pandemic of the unvaccinated" with Del Bigtree.
This video is from the Corona Facts channel on Brighteon.com.
MedicalTyranny.com has more stories about authorities worldwide limiting the movement of unvaccinated people.
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