Dubai: Bahrain has suspended all its flights from Dubai airport and Sharjah airport on Tuesday for 48 hours over coronavirus concerns.
Bahrain’s Civil Aviation Affairs (CAA) stated on Twitter that it is cooperating with authorities to take necessary measures in light of Covid-19.
All passengers at the arrivals will be tested and if found to be suffering from any symptoms of the condition will be immediately transferred to isolation for treatment.
Gulf Air alert
Gulf Air also issued a travel alert stating: "Flights to and from Dubai International Airport temporarily suspended for 48 hours by Bahrain Civil Aviation Affairs #Bahrain #Dubai #GulfAir"
The coronavirus pandemic took a turn for the worse on Monday, especially in the Middle East, after Iranian state media reported that 50 people had died of the disease in the city of Qom alone.
This makes Iran the biggest victims of the disease outside China. An Iranian lawmaker also confirmed this figure, though the ministry insisted that only 12 had died. Oman has stopped flights to Iran.
On Tuesday, Emirates Airlines announced that passengers across the Emirates network holding tickets for final destination Bahrain will not be accepted for boarding at their point of origin.
"Passengers affected in Dubai will be offered flights to Dammam, KSA if applicable, or a return flight to journey start point if holding return tickets," the airline stated on its website.
"Affected customers should contact their travel agent, or Emirates office for rebooking options or refunds," the airlines said. EK837/838, EK839/840, EK833/83, EK835/836 are the Emirates flights cancelled to Bahrain.
On Monday, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Iraq reported their first cases of the coronavirus as Gulf countries moved to stop an outbreak in Iran from spreading.
The Kuwaiti infections were linked to people returning from Mashhad, a pilgrim city in Iran, while two Omani women diagnosed with the disease had also visited Iran.
Cases in Bahrain, Iraq, and Lebanon also are directly linked to the outbreak in Iran.
Tajikistan, Oman and Turkey joined a growing list of countries suspending flights and travel to and from Iran.
Kuwait said it had diagnosed three cases: a 53-year-old Kuwaiti man, a 61-year-old Saudi citizen, and a 21-year-old stateless Arab.
13 cases in the UAE
The UAE has already announced 13 cases of the coronavirus, all of them foreigners. The latest were a 70-year-old Iranian man, whose condition is unstable, and his 64-year-old wife.
The UAE has also banned its citizens from travelling to Iran and Thailand as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus.
