Picture for illustrative purposes only. ARCHIVE

UAE's National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) announced the lifting of the mandatory wearing of face masks on Monday. The new regulations will take effect on Wednesday (September 28). Face mask regulations had been in effect for more than two and a half years. NCEMA stated in a tweet that masks will still be necessary for medical facilities and hospitals, mosques, places of worship, and public transportation. ALSO READ: 3 places in UAE where face mask is still mandatory Face masks will no longer be required in classrooms. Those suspected of infection will still be required to wear a face mask. NCEMA advises all patients with chronic conditions to maintain wearing masks. Distance rules at mosques will also be lifted. PCR tests are now only mandatory if symptoms are shown. Those who interacted with Covid-19-infected patients will be subjected to a PCR test and monitored for seven days. Those infected with Covid-19 will be quarantined for five days. Employers must follow these rules. For travel, individual airlines can now decide if they wish to institute mandatory masks on board. The UAE will also lift any requirements to leave the country, with destination countries setting arrival rules. For arrivals, the rules remain unchanged. The UAE will now also stop publishing figures for daily infections. To keep the Al Hosn Green status, those working in Abu Dhabi will only get a PCR test every 30 days instead of every 14 days. Masks have been gradually phased out in the UAE over the last few months, and wearing them in public has been optional since February 26. However, the UAE reinforced wearing face masks indoors in the ongoing preventive actions against COVID-19 last June 13. Prior to the recent amendment of the restriction, those who failed to wear face masks in public were subjected to a Dh3000 fine. BKM/ Expat Media
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