The rule comes as a new variant of Covid-19 has been discovered…

With the Christmas holidays fast approaching, many Dubai residents will be planning to visit their family over the festive period. The UAE has already made suggestions that residents refrain from travelling during this time, and now the UK has reintroduced its PCR on arrival mandate.

The UK government is hoping to control the spread of new Covid-19 variant, Omicron, by introducing compulsory PCR tests for anyone arriving into the country. It also announced 10 countries which will have to quarantine on arrival, however this does not include the UAE at present.

Once travellers arrive into the UK they must take the PCR test by the end of the second day after their arrival. They are also under strict instruction to isolate until they receive their negative PCR test result. Once this comes through they are free to explore as they please.

The rules apply to anyone entering the UK, regardless of vaccination status, and will be reviewed again in three weeks’ time. From Tuesday in the UK, face masks will be compulsory in shops and on public transport if you’re visiting England, but are not required elsewhere.

The move aims to crack down on the new variant before it can spread too far, and to ensure that families can gather for Christmas as intended.

UAE authorities have advised against international travel over the Christmas period, due to the rising number of Covid-19 cases overseas. Dr Farida Al Hosani, the official spokeswoman for the health sector, explained her concerns on social media, urging people to look at the case statistics.