https://arab.news/cxejm
- Abu Dhabi and Dubai police try to limit social gatherings and impose fines
- Kuwait reports 1,048 cases and 5 deaths, Bahrain records 812 cases and 2 deaths
DUBAI: As the death toll from the coronavirus creeps closer to the 1,000 mark in the UAE, police forces from the different emirates have approved new precautionary measures to combat the disease.
In Abu Dhabi, the country’s capital, the police were forced to break up 11 weddings.
Limiting the number of people in social gatherings is just one of the challenges facing Abu Dhabi, where the local police force announced organizers of such events would be fined AED10,000 ($2,722) while participants would receive a AED5,000 fine.
The financial penalties have not had the effect the police were hoping for.
In Abu Dhabi alone, officers reported 1,688 violations as they referred 47 organizers and 1,641 participants to the emirate’s Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Prosecution Team.
Dubai Police said anyone who wants to enter a police station or other official buildings within the emirate are now required to present a negative PCR test before entering. Those who have received two doses of the coronavirus vaccine are exempt.
The Ajman Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management Team approved a new package of preventive measures that include banning concerts, festivals and events, while reducing the capacity at cinemas, gyms, parks and beaches to 50 percent. That emirate’s new measures were implemented Thursday and also include the limiting of people attending weddings to 10 and funerals to 20.
Similar measures were introduced in Ras Al-Khaimah, with concerts and events canceled and operating capacities in other public places significantly reduced.
The Sharjah Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management Team, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and the Sharjah Special Education Authority, said all students in public and private schools, as well as all nurseries, would switch to remote learning until the end of the month.
The Department of Human Resources in Sharjah also instructed all employees within the emirate to work from home starting Sunday, with some exceptions permitted.
The UAE reported 3,525 new cases on Thursday, bringing the national total to 339,667 people infected with COVID-19. The death toll reached 974 after another 18 people died from the virus.
Elsewhere, Kuwait reported 1,048 new cases, raising the country’s total to 175,031. The death toll rose to 985 after five deaths were reported in the past 24 hours.
Oman’s Health Ministry said that its total number of cases reached 136,622 after registering 245 additional cases on Thursday. Two more patients died, raising the death toll to 1,539.
In Bahrain the death toll stands at 393 after two new deaths were reported. The number of confirmed cases in the country increased by 812.