Dubai extends 24-hour coronavirus curfew by a week as country slows to a halt

Dubai will have its 24-hour Covid-19 curfew extended by another week, as the rest of the country attempts to deal with the spread of the virus.
2 min read
17 April, 2020
Dubai streets are empty [Getty]
Dubai is extending its total 24-hour-a-day curfew by an additional week, as part of a sterilisation drive to curb the spread of coronavirus, the government revealed in a Twitter post on Friday.

The UAE originally imposed a nationwide curfew that has been in place since 26 March, but Dubai extended it initially on 4 April to a 24-hour lockdown for two weeks.

This comes as the Gulf Arab country on Friday reported 477 new cases and two more deaths of Gulf nationals.

There are 6,302 cases of Covid-19 in the country, and 37 people have died due to complications from the virus.

The Emirates Red Crescent humanitarian organisation will “foster and care for” the families of those who have died in the UAE from Covid-19 lung disease caused by the virus, the federal government said in a Twitter post.

“Under the directives and follow-up of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the ERC announces the sponsorship for the families of deceased individuals who died of Covid-19 complications of all nationalities in the country, as part of the ‘Among your Family’ initiative,” the tweet read.

The UAE has the second highest infection count after its neighbour Saudi Arabia, where the total number of infections has surpassed 22,500 with more than 140 deaths.

Saudi Arabia has installed thermal cameras to monitor the body temperature of the limited number of worshippers allowed to enter the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, local media said.

Eid prayers in Saudi to be done from home

Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti has decreeed that Muslims must pray nightly Ramadan Taraweeh prayers and Eid prayer at home if the novel coronavirus disease persists.

"Ramadan's Taraweeh (evening) prayer can be performed at home if it cannot be performed at mosques due to the preventive measures taken to fight the spread of coronavirus," Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah bin Mohammed al-Sheikh said.

Al-Sheikh, the highest religious authority in Saudi Arabia, made this ruling speaking to Okaz, a newspaper aligned with the Saudi regime.

Taraweeh prayers are exclusively carried out in the holy month of Ramadan, where Muslims traditionally gather to pray in Mosques.

He said the same ruling will apply for Eid prayers, which take place the morning after the holy month of Ramadan is finished.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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