Expo 2020 Dubai suspends close contact events, expands COVID-19 testing on site

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Expo 2020 Dubai continues to maintain robust COVID-19 measures, ensuring a safe and exceptional event for all attending.

The largest major global event to be held since the start of the pandemic, Expo 2020’s latest COVID-19 measures include the expansion of the number of on-site PCR testing facilities to four, and free testing for all Country Pavilion staff.

While all frontline workers and entertainers continue to be tested on a regular basis, some close contact events, such as parades and roving entertainers, have been temporarily suspended as a short-term precautionary measure.

With more than 90 per cent of the UAE population fully vaccinated, Expo 2020 Dubai has required mandatory vaccination and boosters of all Expo and International Participant staff, volunteers, contractors and service providers.

Visitors ages 18 and above are required to present proof of any vaccination or a negative PCR test taken within the previous 72 hours. In addition, Expo 2020 maintains on site sanitisation stations and mandatory face-masks both indoors and outdoors.

On the other hand, the UAE government has urged residents and citizens to take the booster dose COVID-19 vaccine to limit the spread of coronavirus infection in the country.

The health experts said that based on studies and research issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO), it indicates that people who received a booster dose were less infected than those who did not receive the booster dose even if they were exposed to mild symptoms.

Human health and safety is one of the most important priorities of the state, and therefore obtaining the booster and booster dose is considered an essential support for obtaining the antibodies necessary to prevent the mutations and genetic mutations of the coronavirus.

The authorities said, “We call upon our honorable audience that teams will be formed by the party's organiser to ensure that all precautionary and preventive measures are applied and adhered to.”

Through a policy of strategic integration between the vital sectors concerned with responding to the pandemic, the UAE was able to control the number of injuries and provide the latest methods of prevention and treatment to ensure community health.