Covid-19: Dubai issues new guidelines on wearing masks

Dubai has announced a set of guidelines on the use of face masks outside residences and in public areas for different age groups, Dubai Media Office reported.

The new measures were issued by the Dubai Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management committee, and are based on the recommendations of the Covid-19 Command and Control Centre as well as a review of global best practices.

The new criteria take into account the exceptional situations of certain groups of people including people of determination, children, and those with chronic respiratory conditions.

While all members of the community must wear face masks outside their homes at all times, the following categories have been exempted under specific conditions:

– Children under the age of six

– People of determination with cognitive, intellectual or sensory disorders or any impairments that impede their ability to breathe or communicate, as well as those for whom masks can lead to sensory triggering (to be confirmed by a medical report)

– Individuals who require supplemental oxygen or have severe respiratory conditions, who cannot breathe safely or have difficulty breathing with a mask, are also exempted (to be confirmed by a medical report)

The Committee also decided to allow the public to remove their face masks temporarily outside their residences strictly only under the following conditions:

– When driving the car alone or in the presence of the same household members

– While eating or drinking in indoor and outdoor settings, for example in restaurants. The public must however maintain physical distance with others

– When engaging in strenuous indoor and outdoor exercise or high intensity workouts, as it may worsen health conditions. However, physical distancing must be observed at all times

– While being alone with no people around – for example, in a private office setting

· When the risks associated with wearing the face mask outweigh the benefits, for example while swimming or skydiving

– While undergoing specific treatments that require removal of masks, such as dental work and eye, nose, and throat examinations, as well as other related treatments or examinations including those involving hair and beauty

The committee added that the exemptions are to protect the safety of the community and remove risks faced by some segments from wearing the masks.

Parents and guardians of the exempted groups are to ensure a minimum physical distance of two metres from others.

The UAE reported 661 Covid-19 cases as well as two deaths on May 31. The total number of infections in the country tallies 34,557 while 264 people have succumbed to the virus across the country.