DUBAI, UAE (Dubai) – The Dubai Department of Tourism announced on Thursday an immediate shutdown of all live shows in hotels and restaurants, a day after suspending non-urgent surgeries in hospitals to deal with an influx of COVID-19 patients.
Both decisions come after months of Dubai being touted as the ideal holiday for pandemics locate while coronavirus infections were spreading. Now the sheikh shows signs of tension.
Although the cases reached unprecedented heights in the UAE, the city-state of Dubai had wanted to be a bright desert oasis for tourists fleeing harsh closures at home. Since reopening in the spring, the mall has withstood more restrictions that would affect its economy, based primarily on aviation, hospitality and retail.
Beyond the ubiquitous outdoor masks, a sense of pre-pandemic normalcy has been imposed on the city. Bands, dancers and DJs had performed in bars and nightclubs for socially distanced crowds. Hotel occupancy rates topped 70% in December, close to 2019 holiday levels. The city’s airport welcomed more than 70,000 passengers during the New Year’s weekend alone.
Soon countries like the UK and Israel, which had sent troops to Dubai during the winter holidays, closed their travel corridors, alleging alarm over the rise in UAE infections. Until Tuesday, the sheikh’s government-run media office vigorously insisted that things were under control. In a statement, the emirate said it “continues to maintain the highest levels of protection against the pandemic and compliance with preventive measures.”
But on Thursday, Dubai’s tourism department announced it had “observed, through field inspection, an increase in the number of violations during entertainment activities.”
While bars and restaurants would remain open for the time being, the Dubai media office said it would pause the issuance of new entertainment permits to places with immediate effectiveness to ensure “public safety and health.” The office said it issued more than 200 violations for “non-compliance” with the COVID-19 guidelines and closed 20 establishments in recent weeks.
In a circular sent to business partners, the Dubai tourism department said the ban only applies to live bands from restaurants, bars and beach clubs and that private events and wedding parties, which currently have a maximum limit of 200 people, could continue normally. The statement says non-compliance with health measures would lead to “serious actions” without detailing it. He did not give any deadline for the resumption of entertainment activities.
The pandemic shows no signs of diminishing. The United Arab Emirates broke its infection record on Thursday for the tenth consecutive day, with 3,529 cases reported. The country does not publish infection location data, making it difficult to determine where the country most affected by the federation of seven sheikhs has been.
With its well-endowed health centers and 90% of its population made up of relatively young and healthy expatriates, the UAE has so far avoided the chaotic scenes of overwhelmed hospitals seen elsewhere. The country has recorded more than 267,000 infections and 766 deaths.
The United Arab Emirates has launched the second fastest coronavirus vaccination campaign in the world, following only Israel. The country, which offers state-backed Chinese-made vaccine Sinopharm to all over-16s, says it wants to vaccinate more than half of the 9 million population by the end of March.
On Thursday, the UAE also approved Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine for emergency use, citing “results of its effectiveness,” without detailing it. Other countries have been reluctant to approve Chinese and Russian vaccines, saying their efficacy announcements lack reliable data and other critical details.
Dubai also offers the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which has been approved by Western regulators with an effectiveness rate of approximately 95%. But given the supply constraints, it is only available to residents over the age of 60 and to those suffering from chronic illnesses.
Dozens of residents hoping to obtain the Pfizer-BioNtech jab descended on the World Trade Center in Dubai on Thursday after a state-linked newspaper published a report saying the center accepted access regardless of age and other criteria. of priority. Some seemed willing to wait for hours even as the Emirati health authorities in traditional dress tried to get them to leave.
___
Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai contributed to this report.