Dubai has ordered hotels and restaurants to put all entertainment activities on hold and is asking hospitals to cancel elective surgical procedures amid the biggest surge in coronavirus cases in the United Arab Emirates since the start of the pandemic.
Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing ordered a temporary halt to all entertainment activities from Thursday (Jan 21) until further notice after inspections showed "an increase in the number of violations", it said in a circular.
The city's health authority has also asked government and private hospitals to suspend "all elective therapeutic surgeries that require deep sedation or general anaesthesia", according to a circular published on Wednesday.
The order comes into effect from midnight on Thursday until Feb 19 and could be extended.
The UAE is battling a surge in infections as tourists escaped lockdowns across Europe for the country's sunny weather and beaches during the winter.
A travel corridor with Britain had also brought in scores of holidaymakers, but this was shut as cases spiked.
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