UAE restricts entry to government sites to vaccinated only amid COVID surge concerns

The UAE will restrict entry into all government institutions only to people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 starting from January 3, state news agency WAM reported on Sunday.

People who are exempt from the vaccination will also be allowed entry, the report added.

Cases in the Gulf country have been steadily at low rates in recent months, but the Ministry of Health reporting the highest number of COVID-19 cases on Sunday since late September.

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The UAE reported on Sunday 285 positive coronavirus cases, which is the highest since September 27 when the country reported 286 positive cases.

The country has not specified whether any of the new cases where of the omicron variant, though it announced that it reported its first case of the new, highly transmissible variant on December 1.

The WHO had declared that Omicron, which was detected last month in South Africa, was a variant of concern.

The UAE remains one of the top countries in the world when it comes to vaccination rates and has managed to report low numbers of cases and deaths in recent months while remaining open to business.

The UAE has reported in November that 100 percent of the population has received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 90.3 percent have been fully vaccinated.

The Gulf country also made COVID-19 vaccine booster shots available for everyone over the age of 18 amid rising concerns over Omicron.

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