Buzz: Dubai index drops more than 5%; Air Arabia falls about 10% on COVID variant fears

** Dubai’s index dropped more than 5%; its biggest intra-day fall since March last year

** Air Arabia plunges nearly 10% to 1.39 dirhams in early trade amid concerns over a new coronavirus variant

** UAE suspended entry for travellers from South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Mozambique due to a new variant of the COVID-19 virus 

** Israel is to ban entry of foreigners from all countries

** Air Arabia does not fly to Israel or the African countries

** With Sunday’s losses, the stock’s year to date gain stands at 9.4%