UAEG REACTS -- AND OVERREACTS - TO SARS

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 001983 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/RA E.O. 12958: DECL 04/26/2008 TAGS: ECON ETRD PREL PHUM PGOV SOCI TC SUBJECT: UAEG REACTS -- AND OVERREACTS - TO SARS ¶1. (U) Classified by DCM Richard A. Albright reasons 1.5 (B) and (D). ¶2. (U) The UAE Ministry of Health will install thermal scanners at Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports to check the temperatures of airline passengers as a defense against SARS. Passengers traveling from SARS infected countries will submit special disembarkation cards with their contact information in the UAE to keep track of their whereabouts. Transit passengers from SARS-affected countries will not be allowed off their flights and those who need to change flights will be sequestered in a separate hall away from other passengers. ¶3. (U) Medical teams have been assigned to monitor passengers arriving from east Asia until the scanners are installed. If someone is observed with breathing difficulties or a high temperature, the individual will be isolated and given a check-up. Passengers are also told to go to a public health clinic if they feel any of the SARS symptoms within ten days of arrival. ¶4. (C) An advisor to the Chairman of Abu Dhabi's Civil Aviation Department Patrick Gordon, told Econoff that a Gulf Air flight from China had been turned back in the early morning hours of April 26 by orders from the highest levels of the Ministry of Health and CID. Though all the passengers had been checked for SARS- like symptoms before they boarded the flight, officials have become paranoid about incoming flights from east Asia and refused permission for the flight to land. (Note: The flight was re-routed back to China via Sudan and Bahrain. End note.) Gordon stated that the UAE's response to SARS was in a state of flux and that officials were meeting to coordinate a permanent plan for air travel from east Asia, which might possibly include a total ban on such flights. ¶5. (C) Comment: The UAE's response to SARS is a work in progress. Having initially responded slowly to implementing safety procedures for fear of frightening businesspeople and tourists, the UAEG might now be overreacting. The public posture is in line with the international standards recommended by WHO, but behind the scenes, officials are scrambling to implement a cohesive program. With regard to the re-routing of the Gulf Air flight, we would defer to Embassy Muscat but believe the return may have resulted from a decision by the Omani Civil Aviation Authorities, who are the overseers/regulators of Gulf Air. End comment. Wahba