Dubai begins work-from-home for federal government employees

Beginning from Tuesday, March 10, the Dubai government will begin introducing a work-from-home policy for selected federal departments in the emirate as means to contain the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, reported Gulf News.

Read: UAE reports 14 new coronavirus cases

The pilot programme will be applied to all state employees in the federal and local sectors. However, hospital workers, employees working in emergency departments such as electricity and water emergencies, civil defense personnel, the police and those employed in the passports departments at airports, sea and land ports are excluded.

On Tuesday, 25 per cent of the workforce of the selected departments will begin working from home.

By Wednesday, that number will be increased to 50 per cent of the workforce.

By Tuesday, March 17, 100 per cent of the personnel from the selected departments will be working remotely.

The report added that the policy will be gradually applied to all the other emirates across the country.

Employees will be divided into two groups, and the work distributed remotely between them.

One group will work remotely on the first day, and then return to work from the ministry’s offices on the next day, with the cycle repeating itself.

On Monday, March 9, government bodies issued a circular allowing its pregnant employees and senior citizens to work from home.

Read: UAE Ministry of Education clarifies spring break dates for teachers and students

All schools, universities and nurseries across the UAE were closed for four weeks starting from Sunday, March 8, during which they would be sterilised.

The UAE has announced 14 new cases of Covid-19, the Ministry of Health and Prevention said on Monday evening, bringing the total number of reported cases to 59.

The health ministry said the cases include four Emiratis, three Italians, two Bangladeshis, two Nepalese, one Russian, one Indian and one Syrian national.

The ministry also announced that five additional patients had recovered including two Emiratis, two Ethiopians and one Thai national.

That brings to 12 the total number of Covid-19 patients who have recovered in the country.