Planning your Eid Al Fitr vacation? Here’s something very important you need to keep in mind. The UAE has issued a travel advisory for its residents and citizens. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the UAE (MoFAICUAE) urged residents to avoid travelling to two African countries. The advisory warned people from avoiding travel to Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania, due to the outbreak of the Marburg virus. Read on for more.
Taking to Twitter, the ministry urged citizens to postpone travel to these two African countries for their own safety. The ministry also advised those living or are on a visit to the two nations to take necessary precautions and follow the safety instructions issued by the competent authorities.
Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania are facing outbreaks of the Marburg virus, a highly infectious and deadly disease similar to Ebola, following the deaths of at least nine people, the World Health Organization (WHO) said earlier.
Additionally, the Ministry also provided an emergency helpline number and urged people to get in touch in case of an emergency (0097180024). MOFAIC advised UAE citizens to register for the “Twajudi” service at www.mofaic.gov.ae or through the ministry’s smart app, “UAE MOFAIC,” if they have already left the country or intend to do so. The Twajudi service facilitates communication, provides support, and plans for the return of UAE nationals who are residing abroad.
Last week, the Equatorial Guinea recorded nine laboratory deaths and a further 13 positive cases. A total of 825 contacts have been followed up. The WHO has warned of a potential large scale epidemic which could spread to neighbouring Gabon and Cameroon.
In recent years, there have also been outbreaks of the Marburg virus in:
- Equatorial Guinea
- Ghana
- the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Kenya
- South Africa
- Uganda
- Zimbabwe
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