UAE drops face masks outdoors, quarantine for COVID contact cases

 The United Arab Emirates, the Middle East tourism and commercial hub, over the weekend ended a requirement to wear face masks outdoors and obligatory quarantine for COVID-19 contact cases.

Fully-vaccinated passengers arriving in the country will no longer require PCR tests, said the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority in updated guidance that went into effect on Saturday.

"For economic and tourist sectors, physical distancing has been cancelled while mask-wearing in closed places is still mandatory," it said.

The capital Abu Dhabi also dropped a border entry requirement for a negative PCR test for those coming from other UAE emirates.

Daily coronavirus cases in the country have fallen to some 600 from close to 3,000 in January.