UAE could re-impose lockdown in some areas due to surge in Covid-19 cases
A government official said that the UAE might resort to reintroducing lockdown in some areas of the countries where a high number of new Covid-19 cases are being reported.
Dr. Saif al-Dhaheri of the UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA) confirmed on Thursday in an interview when asked if the national sterilization program, which had involved a night-time curfew, could be reintroduced in some areas where there is a remarkable surge in Covid-19 cases: “Yes. If we found that the number of cases is increasing in a specific area, we could.”
The previous lockdown in UAE that had been in force since mid-March came to an end on 24 July, as businesses started to re-open and economic activities resumed.
The gulf state has reported more than 400 new cases and two deaths over the span of 24 hours (on Wednesday and Thursday) for the first time since lifting the curfew.
Health minister Abdul Rahman Bin Mohammed al-Owais on Tuesday warned the number of cases could rise after an "alarming" increase over the previous two weeks.
Although the average infection rate has been plummeting since May from a peak of around 900 daily cases, the country is witnessing occasional spikes that might call for new restrictive measures to be imposed.
The UAE has registered over 65,000 cases and 369 fatalities since the pandemic started.