Our Correspondent
Abu Dhabi Airports has launched rapid free COVID-19 PCR testing for all arrivals, except those in transit, and the results will be provided in around 90 minutes.
The new state-of-the-art Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) laboratory, in partnership with Pure Health and Tamouh Healthcare, offers testing within Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) to facilitate air travel procedures and support quarantine tracking procedures.
The laboratory has the capacity to test more than 20,000 travellers and staff per day.
The laboratory has been established as per the directives of Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Airports, to contain the spread of COVID-19 while continuing to deliver a smooth and seamless travel experience at the airport.
All passengers arriving through terminals 1 and 3 will be tested at the AUH PCR testing facility. Results of the tests will be shared by SMS and WhatsApp, and also on the Al Hosn app. Passengers can leave the airport after completing the PCR test.
Passengers who receive a negative result and arriving from the list of ‘green’ countries outlined by the government of Abu Dhabi will not have to self-isolate. Those arriving from countries not on the ‘green’ list will have to self-isolate for ten days, and wear a quarantine wristband fitted at the PCR testing tent attached to the airport.
Passengers transiting through the airport will not be tested prior to departing for their final destinations.
Pure Health is the region’s largest laboratory operator. The 4,000 square metre passenger facility will operate round the clock with up to 190 staff.
Abu Dhabi Airports has introduced a comprehensive range of health and safety measures including a specially trained team of Wellness Ambassadors who support passengers by answering their common health queries, encouraging social distancing, and providing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
The airport also has touch-free elevator technology, sterilisation tunnels, thermal scanning cameras, and cameras with facial recognition capabilities that alert staff if passengers or visitors to the airport are displaying COVID-19 symptoms or not wearing facemasks.
