Commuters who travel to Abu Dhabi have spoken of how they juggle mandatory testing and their daily work.
To enter the capital, drivers require proof that a negative PCR nasal swab test was taken in the past 48 hours.
Or they must under go a DPI test at a screening centre in Ghantoot, off the Abu Dhabi and Dubai highway. There, medics use a laser to quickly check a drop of blood in a process that takes just minutes.
Several drivers who commute in from Dubai told The National how they have been able to return to work in person.
If you look at it from Abu Dhabi's point of view, it's a precautionary measure that is needed
Nagendra Gaur, 39, a planning engineer working on two construction projects in Abu Dhabi, has taken three PCR tests since July 3, days after the authorities imposed mandatory Covid-19 clearance to enter the emirate.
“If you look at it from Abu Dhabi’s point of view, it’s a precautionary measure that is needed," he said.
“This is the only way to make [the emirate] covid-free. I actually appreciate it. If they allow everyone from outside free movement then all this safety exercise will have been wasted.”
The PCR test costs Dh370 and is offered in most hospitals in Dubai. In contrast, the DPI test on the Dubai-Abu Dhabi road costs just Dh50 - but the centre has been booked for weeks in advance.
Since the nasal swab test results come in anytime between 22 to 16 hours, he must be watchful of the 48-hour valid window.
Mr Gaur has not had to wait at the border since he begins work early and crosses into the capital at around 5am.
Fortunately, his company has covered the cost of several nights in a hotel each week, to avoid having to get tested every two days, and he returns to see his wife and two sons on Thursday nights.
“As of now my company handles all expenses. I’m a little worried if my company at some point thinks this is an additional expense,” he said.
“Covid-19 is unpredictable, you don’t know about the next month or next week. There are things that are uncertain that we cannot plan for.”
Rahul Bohra, 38, who also works in construction, has lived in an Abu Dhabi hotel for two 10-day stretches and returned to his family in Dubai for a few days in between.
After the Eid break, Mr Bohra will take a test every other day to drive in, and stay with a colleague in Abu Dhabi for a couple of days if required.
He has already booked regular appointments at the Ghantoot facility throughout August to ensure he can get to work on an Abu Dhabi construction project.
Testing slots at the facility are currently fully booked until August 17.
“The first thing I check in the day is the bookings,” said Mr Bohra, who prepares cost estimates for project tenders.
“I’m hoping more test centres come up so the booking window will reduce. It is always in my mind that I have to book an appointment.”
But juggling between accommodation and fitting in tests is not his biggest concern throughout the pandemic, when companies worldwide have retrenched staff or asked employees to take unpaid leave.
“All these are secondary issues. The critical thing is that we have jobs and I’m thankful to god for this,” he said.
Mr Bohra has no immediate plans to move out of Dubai, having recently renewed his tenancy contract and found a new school for his daughter.
“Many [commuters] are hopeful that with extra test facilities at border they can travel on a daily basis," he said.
Mr Bohra backs Abu Dhabi's rigorous testing as “absolutely necessary.”
“With everyone being tested, at least [authorities] will be able to trace where a new case is coming from,” he said.
“I’m pretty much in favour of this because it’s a good thing to be able to trace and track cases. Each country is taking measures to control the pandemic. People may face some problems but it’s for longer term benefit.”
Sushant Dalai, 32, said he plans to move from Dubai to Abu Dhabi next month.
The engineer, who works for a metals company in the capital, said the move would coincide with his lease ending in Dubai.
“My Dubai renewal is in September so I will wait before I decide on moving. I still have time," he said.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The five pillars of Islam
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Specs
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
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- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
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