UAE Reports Fewest Cases in a Year as Dubai Prepares for Expo

(Bloomberg) -- The United Arab Emirates reported fewer than 400 coronavirus cases for the first time in more than a year, with just two weeks to go for Dubai Expo -- the biggest in-person event since the pandemic began. 

The Gulf nation reported 391 cases on Sunday. Infections have been dropping steadily in the country, which has rolled out one of the fastest vaccination campaigns in the world. 

Abu Dhabi on Sunday abolished a requirement for visitors coming from other parts of the country to show a Covid-19 negative test as infection rate in the UAE capital fell to 0.2% of total tests.

The decline in cases will come as a boost for Dubai, one of the UAE’s seven emirates, as it gears up to host the Expo event that starts in October. The exhibition is expected to attract 25 million visits over six months.

Visitors to the event will now be required to provide vaccination certificates or get tested to enter the event, under new rules issued days after organizers said inoculations weren’t needed.

The Expo, initially set for October 2020, was meant to attract millions of visitors and provide a boost to the local economy. But as the pandemic hit, halting the global economy, the government postponed the event and reconsidered its targets.

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