Federal Law No.14 of 2014 on Combatting Communicable Diseases (the law) (550 KB, PDF in Arabic) applies to every person in the UAE and on all communicable diseases listed in the appendix of the law. After the outbreak of  COVID-19 in December 2019, Ministry of Health and Prevention added COVID-19 in the list of communicable diseases mentioned in the said federal law.

Cabinet Resolution No. 33 of 2016 which relates to the Executive Regulations of Federal Law No. 14 of 2014 mandates relevant authorities to implement strategies and plans to reduce the rates of infection and deaths caused by communicable diseases, through early detection and control of infected cases and sources of contagion.

The resolution defines the terms used and the ways to report such diseases, including those that could be transmitted from animals, the measures that ought to be followed when any of the listed communicable diseases are discovered and how to fight it.

Furthermore, it includes the rights and duties of patients with communicable diseases, conditions of isolation and quarantine, procedures to deal with deaths and those who arrive in the country with infections or suspected to be infected of such diseases.