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Rabat – The UAE has updated travel requirements, excluding Morocco from the “green travel list” amid mounting concerns over the spread of Omicron.
The Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi (DCT) released the new green travel list, with the number of destinations reduced from 95 to73.
The update of the travel list went into effect on Sunday, December 26.
Travelers from the green list destinations are exempted from quarantine measures upon landing in Abu Dhabi.
The list of countries excluded from the green travel list includes Morocco, New Zealand, Algeria, San Marino, Seychelles, Tunisia, Mauritius, Uruguay, and many others.
The National, the UAE’s leading English-language news website, reported that the country’s decision comes amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in many countries, as well as the outbreak of the Omicron variant.
Vaccinated travelers will not have to undergo confinement but will have to take a PCR test upon arrival if they are staying in the Gulf country.
Unvaccinated travelers are required to undergo a quarantine only if they are coming from somewhere not on the green list.
Morocco is among the countries that have confirmed cases of Omicron. The Health Ministry reported 28 confirmed cases, while 46 people are being monitored.
The North African country also registered a notable increase in the number of COVID-19 cases after months of maintaining lower numbers of recorded cases.
On Sunday, December 26, Morocco confirmed 532 new COVID cases and one death.
A day earlier, Morocco recorded 734 COVID-19 cases and two deaths.
In previous weeks, the number of new cases did not exceed 200 cases.
Both the increase in the number of cases and the outbreak of Omicron led Morocco to close its borders. The North African country extended the travel ban until January 31 as part of the measures seeking to limit the spread of COVID-19 and Omicron cases to its territory.
