UAE may reintroduce restrictions if corona cases increase

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates could reintroduce de-facto overnight restrictions in some areas of the country if the cases of infection continue to rise, the government has warned.

The UAE recorded 391 new coronavirus cases after an additional 82,191 tests on Friday. It was the first time in five days the daily number of cases in the UAE decreased. On Sunday, there were just 210 new cases but daily cases of COVID-19 more than doubled by Thursday. Health officials have warned that a second wave could be on the way.

The new infections take the country’s number of active COVID-19 cases to 7,527 and its national death toll to 370. There were 143 recoveries, bringing the national total to 58,296 patients, while one patient died in the past 24 hours.

New penalties and violations may be introduced in the UAE to stop the spread of COVID-19, the officials stated at a press conference.

New penalties will be introduced in coordination with competent authorities to curb COVID-19 depending on how the situation evolves. The UAE had lifted all movement restrictions on June 24 after imposing on March 26 to fight the coronavirus. In the UAE, the fine for not wearing a face mask or not maintaining physical distancing is Dh3,000 (Rs135,000).