Dubai extends Covid-19 restrictions until the beginning of Ramadan

Officials in Dubai have confirmed that the Covid-19 restrictions currently in place which were due to be lifted at the end of February, will now be extended until the start of Ramadan in mid-April.

Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management said the decision was based on an evaluation of data showing showing the effectiveness of the intensified safety measures that were implemented at the start of February, as well as taking into account the recommendations of frontline authorities.

The precautionary measures that will now extend until the start of Ramadan include:

– Indoor venues, including cinemas and entertainment and sports venues, will continue to operate at 50 per cent of maximum capacity and under intensified precautionary measures.

– Visitors allowed in shopping malls, and guests in hotel establishments and inside swimming pools and private beaches in hotels, will be limited to 70 per cent of its total capacity.

– Restaurants and cafés are required to close by 1am.

– Pubs/bars will remain closed.

– Intensified monitoring and inspection campaigns will continue to ensure strict compliance with measures including physical distancing and wearing of facemasks.

Headed by @sheikhmansoor, #Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management, , announces that the COVID-19 precautionary measures introduced in the beginning of February will be extended until the start of Ramadan in mid-April.https://t.co/sUqNvuk8z2 pic.twitter.com/XpdXJ4W9sP

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) February 26, 2021

The committee added that observing preventive protocols and safety guidelines remained the most effective ways of combating the virus, and it urged members of the community to report violations of Covid-19 precautionary measures by individuals or establishments through Dubai Police’s Call Centre 901 or its ‘Police Eye’ service in the Dubai Police Smart App.

Read: Dubai Police urges public to report violations of Covid-19 protocols

On Saturday, authorities in Dubai said that a a total of 167 inspections were carried out to monitor for compliance of Covid-19 restrictions which led to three establishments being closed, three of which were fined, and another seven of which received warnings.

It came the same day that the UAE reported 3,434 new Covid-19 infections taking the total number of cases up to 388,594. A total of 1,213 people have succumbed to the disease, while 379,708 have recovered from it.