Visitors to the UAE will not be affected by suspended flights – authority

The Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA) in the UAE has announced that all visitors who arrived in the country and could not exit due to the closure of air and land borders, will be granted permission to stay legitimately in the country, official news agency WAM reported.

A specific procedure will be announced for the same in the coming days.

“The ICA is keen to deal with various developments arising from the measures taken at both regional and international levels to contain the spread of coronavirus, COVID-19, in a way that will ensure necessary care to all residents of the UAE,” the authority said in a statement.

The suspension of passenger flights from March 25 onward is an attempt to try and halt the spread of the Covid-19 virus, that has since its outbreak late last year, afflicted 198 people in the country.

Read more: UAE suspends all inbound and outbound passenger flights for two weeks

All those within the UAE were encouraged to stay at home unless absolutely necessary to get essential supplies as the country accelerates its efforts to contain the virus.

Read: UAE urges all residents to stay home as it closes malls, makes restaurants delivery-only

The government also announced the closure of all its malls.