Tuesday, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) announced that employees in five business sectors in the UAE who have not been vaccinated against the coronavirus will now be required to take a PCR test every two weeks, beginning March 28.

The sectors include hotels, restaurants, transportation, health and social sectors, and “individual activities” relating to laundry services, beauty salons and barbershops.

The Human Resources and Emiratisation Ministry decided upon this in coordination with the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA), said WAM.

According to Minister Nasser bin Thani Al-Hamli, this decision was taken as a part of the measures which aim to limit the spread of COVID-19, all while preserving the health of employees and citizens.

WAM added that the private sector was urged by the ministry to “encourage their employees to get inoculated, and to coordinate with the competent authorities to ensure that their employees get an access to the vaccine doses.”

Notably, a total of 7,373,725 COVID-19 jabs have been administered in the UAE as of March 22, with the emirate planning on providing jabs to "all members of society," in order to help reduce the number of cases of COVID-19.