Covid: Half a million inspections carried out in Dubai since March 2020

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Dubai - The Dubai Media Office on Friday tweeted a video that recapped the civic body’s efforts in fighting the spread of Covid-10.

By Team KT

Published: Fri 29 Jan 2021, 9:08 PM

Since the Covid-19 pandemic struck, the Dubai Municipality (DM) has been on the move — going from one tourist spot to another, one mall to another, all to ensure that safety protocols are followed. From March 2020 onwards, it has carried out half a million inspections across the city.

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The Dubai Media Office on Friday tweeted a video that recapped the civic body’s efforts in fighting the spread of Covid-10.

As the DM inspected malls, hotels, tourist atrractions, salons, cafes and other outlets over the last 10 months, 6,500 establishments were either shut down, fined or warned, the authorities said.

This month alone, it ordered the closure of 84 establishments for not adhering to Covid-19 safety measures. It also fined 157 outlets and warned 661 others during the same month.

Since inspections started in March, follow-ups were continuously carried out to ensure compliance. More than 420 inspectors and supervisors all work together as part of a specialised team that is on duty 24/7.

Besides field visits, the DM had also trained over 73,000 health and food supervisors.

Other government teams and law enforcers have also been monitoring compliance with safety rules across the city. With the UAE recording a spike in daily Covid infections across the country this month, authorities have been cracking down on violators.

The Dubai Police had issued more than 400 fines to mall-goers found not wearing masks during its January inspections. The Department of Economic Development announced the closure of nine establishments for their failure to implement Covid-19 measures properly, while the Dubai Tourism recorded a total of 23 notices of closure issued to establishments.