U.S. Warns Against Travel to UAE, Citing High Virus Cases

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. on Monday raised its travel warning for the United Arab Emirates to its highest level, citing a “very high level” of coronavirus in the Gulf nation.

While the UAE has one of the world’s fastest vaccination programs, daily new infections have hovered around 2,000 since March. The country has been on a “red list” for travel to the U.K. since January, putting one of the world’s busiest air routes on ice.

More than one-third of the UAE’s infections are of the delta strain of the pathogen first detected in India.

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The US State Department warning comes as Dubai, one of the emirates in the UAE, prepares for a delayed global trade fair in October. Dubai is aiming for 25 million unique visits and hopes to generate billions of dollars in revenue.

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Neighboring Qatar, which plans to host a soccer World Cup in 2022, said preparations are on track despite setbacks. The nation plans to provide vaccination to all attendees.

Liberia, Mozambique, Uganda, and Zambia have all experienced recent outbreaks and were put in the same Level 4 category as the UAE, according to a State Department statement on Monday.

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