• Nearly 6,000 people are tested at the Ghantoot laser centre every day. Antonie Robertson / The National
    Nearly 6,000 people are tested at the Ghantoot laser centre every day. Antonie Robertson / The National
  • Medics at the Ghantoot testing centre on the border between Dubai and Abu Dhabi use a laser technique to scan a blood sample for signs of surging red blood cells, which is an early sign the body is fighting off a virus. Antonie Robertson / The National
    Medics at the Ghantoot testing centre on the border between Dubai and Abu Dhabi use a laser technique to scan a blood sample for signs of surging red blood cells, which is an early sign the body is fighting off a virus. Antonie Robertson / The National
  • A medic testing a commuter for Covid-19. Antonie Robertson / The National
    A medic testing a commuter for Covid-19. Antonie Robertson / The National
  • The results of the Diffractive Phase Interferometry test, or DPI, which detects viral presence in the blood, including Covid-19, are received in minutes via a text message. Antonie Robertson / The National
    The results of the Diffractive Phase Interferometry test, or DPI, which detects viral presence in the blood, including Covid-19, are received in minutes via a text message. Antonie Robertson / The National
  • The test costs Dh50 and is very quick compared with the PCR test that can take time to get a result. Antonie Robertson / The National
    The test costs Dh50 and is very quick compared with the PCR test that can take time to get a result. Antonie Robertson / The National
  • The facility was set up to allow commuters who require a negative Covid-19 test to enter Abu Dhabi. Those with negative results can continue their journey. Antonie Robertson / The National
    The facility was set up to allow commuters who require a negative Covid-19 test to enter Abu Dhabi. Those with negative results can continue their journey. Antonie Robertson / The National

Health

Coronavirus: More testing now needed to cross Abu Dhabi border

Rules apply to anyone staying for more than four days in the capital

The National

November 05, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

Emiratis and residents entering Abu Dhabi from any other emirate will need to undergo up to three Covid-19 tests under new rules governing the capital's borders.

From Sunday November 8, drivers must present a negative DPI blood test or PCR nasal swab result that was received within the past 48 hours.

If they are staying in the emirate longer than four consecutive days, they must undergo a PCR test on the fourth day. The day of arrival into Abu Dhabi is counted as day one.

If a person is staying longer than eight consecutive days, they must under go another PCR test on the eighth day - in addition to the test on day four.

For example, if someone enters Abu Dhabi on Sunday, the first day, and plans to say longer than eight consecutive days, they must undergo a PCR test on Wednesday, the fourth day, as well as the following Sunday, the eighth day.

Volunteers in the Covid-19 vaccine trials are exempt from these measures.

The rapid DPI blood test is Dh50, while the PRC swab is typically Dh180.

Those who fail to take the PCR test on day four and eight could face fines.

The new rules were tweeted by Abu Dhabi Government Media Office on Wednesday.

They were issued by the Abu Dhabi Crisis, Emergency and Disasters Committee, who said the stricter regulations would "enhance preventive measures for the early detection of Covid-19".

The current "day six" test would no longer be needed after November 8, the committee said.

Previously, people would need a negative DPI or Covid-19 test result, received within the past 48 hours, to enter the capital. Those staying on for at least six consecutive days would have to take a PCR test on the sixth day.

Restrictions on entry to Abu Dhabi have been in force since June 2 to stem the spread of coronavirus. A permit system previously allowed people to enter in some circumstances.

Bert van Marwijk factfile

Born: May 19 1952
Place of birth: Deventer, Netherlands
Playing position: Midfielder

Teams managed:
1998-2000 Fortuna Sittard
2000-2004 Feyenoord
2004-2006 Borussia Dortmund
2007-2008 Feyenoord
2008-2012 Netherlands
2013-2014 Hamburg
2015-2017 Saudi Arabia
2018 Australia

Major honours (manager):
2001/02 Uefa Cup, Feyenoord
2007/08 KNVB Cup, Feyenoord
World Cup runner-up, Netherlands

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Libya's Gold

UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves. 

The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.

Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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