DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Dubai’s tourism department on Thursday announced an immediate halt to all live entertainment at hotels and restaurants, a day after non-urgent operations at hospitals were suspended due to the influx of COVID-19 to treat patients.
Both decisions come after months of Dubai promoting itself as the ideal pandemic-friendly holiday place while coronavirus infections skyrocketed. Now the sheikhdom is showing signs of tension.
Although business in the United Arab Emirates has risen to unprecedented heights, the city-state of Dubai wanted to be a glittering desert oasis for tourists fleeing the difficult locks at home. Since reopening in the spring, the commercial center has withstood more constraints that would have plunged the economy, built primarily on aviation, hospitality and retail.
In addition to the ubiquitous masks in the open air, a sense of pre-pandemic normality prevailed in the city. Bands, dancers and DJs performed in pubs and clubs for crowds at social distances. Hotel occupancy rates rose by more than 70% in December, close to holiday levels of 2019. The city’s airport welcomed more than 70,000 travelers just for the New Year’s weekend.
Soon, countries such as the United Kingdom and Israel that sent to Dubai during the winter holidays closed their travel routes, citing alarms about the infections affecting the UAE. As early as Tuesday, the sheikh’s government office had medically insisted that things were under control. In a statement, the emirate said it “still maintains the highest levels of protection against the pandemic and compliance with preventive measures.”
But on Thursday, the Dubai Department of Tourism announced that it had “observed an increase in the number of offenses during entertainment activities through the field inspection.”
Although pubs and restaurants would remain open for the time being, the Dubai media office said it would suspend the issuance of new entertainment permits to venues that are immediately in place to ensure ‘public health and safety’. The office said it had issued more than 200 violations due to the “non-compliance” with COVID-19 guidelines and had closed 20 businesses in the past few weeks.
In a circular sent to business partners, the Department of Tourism in Dubai said that the ban only applies to live bands at restaurants, bars and beach clubs and that private events and wedding parties, which can currently limit 200 people, could normally continue. The statement said that failure to comply with health measures would lead to ‘serious action’ without extending it. It provided no time frame for the resumption of entertainment activities.
The pandemic shows no signs of diminishing. The UAE on Thursday shattered its infection record for the tenth consecutive day, with 3,529 cases reported. The country does not release location data for infections, making it difficult to determine where in the federation of seven sheik dams the virus was hit the hardest.
With its well-staffed health centers and 90% of the population made up of relatively young and healthy expatriates, the UAE has so far avoided the chaotic scenes of overwhelming hospitals seen elsewhere. The country has recorded more than 267,000 infections and 766 deaths.
The UAE has launched the second fastest coronavirus vaccination campaign in the world, leaving only Israel behind. The country, which offers the vaccine produced by Chinese state-owned company Sinopharm to everyone over the age of 16, says it wants to vaccinate more than half of the population of 9 million by the end of March.
The UAE on Thursday also approved the Russian Sputnik V vaccine for emergency use, citing “results of its effectiveness” without expanding it. Other countries were reluctant to approve the Chinese and Russian vaccines, saying their effective announcements did not include reliable data and other critical details.
Dubai also offers the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, which has been approved by Western regulators with an efficiency rate of approximately 95%. Given the restrictions on supply, it is only available to residents over 60 and people with chronic health conditions.
Dozens of residents hoping to get the Pfizer BioNtech jab descended on Dubai’s World Trade Center on Thursday after a state – linked newspaper published a report accepting the center to step in, regardless of age and other priority criteria. Some stood ready to wait for hours, even as Emirates health officials in traditional dress tried to get them to leave.
___
Associated Press author Jon Gambrell in Dubai contributed to this report.