It’s the first one since masks were removed in most settings at the end of September…

The UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) is set to host a special media briefing tonight, Sunday November 6, the authority has announced via social media. The special briefing, pertaining to Covid-19 updates, was initially announced for 5.30pm, but has since been moved forward to 5pm.

During the pandemic, the NCEMA hosted regular media briefings to update residents on the latest Covid-19 developments, but these have decreased in frequency since the number of cases significantly reduced and the country successfully rolled out its vaccination programme. The last NCEMA media briefing on September 26 took place to announce the removal of masks in most indoor settings, the ability for large scale events and airlines to make their own decisions on mask policies, and to confirm the government would no longer post the daily case numbers. At that time changes were also made to the Al Hosn app, extending the vailidity of the green pass to 30 days after a PCR test for those who are vaccinated, and 7 days for those who are unvaccinated.

Current Covid rules

While we’ll have to wait until this evening to find out what the updates are, the current rules in Dubai only require masks to be worn in medical settings, on public transport and at mosque. Food service providers are also still required to wear a mask.

In Abu Dhabi, the same rules apply to mask wearing, but there is also the additional requirement of the Al Hosn app. To enter all indoor places in the UAE capital, you’re required to have Al Hosn Green Pass, which requires you to have a negative PCR within the last 30 days if you’re fully vaccinated. If you’re unvaccinated, you need to undergo a PCR every 7 days.