Half of Dubai's government sector workers will be back in offices from Sunday and 100 per cent of the workforce from June 14. Getty
Half of Dubai's government sector workers will be back in offices from Sunday and 100 per cent of the workforce from June 14. Getty
Half of Dubai's government sector workers will be back in offices from Sunday and 100 per cent of the workforce from June 14. Getty
Half of Dubai's government sector workers will be back in offices from Sunday and 100 per cent of the workforce from June 14. Getty

Coronavirus: Thousands of Dubai government workers return to offices


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Thousands of Dubai government workers were set to return to their offices on Sunday - with many private sector businesses expected to follow suit.

Half of the public sector workforce will be back in the workplace for the next two weeks, after which 100 per cent will return.

Many private sector companies in Dubai have chosen Sunday to ramp up after almost three months of working from home. As of last week, they are allowed to have 50 per cent of the workforce in the office, up from 30 per cent.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, last week said the move was part of "our gradual return to normal life", but with strict precautionary measures such as the wearing of masks and physical distancing.

Nationwide, 30 per cent of federal ministry employees will return to offices on Sunday.

On Saturday, the UAE's Ministry of Health confirmed 726 new cases taking the total to 33,896. There were two further deaths taking the toll to 262.

Today we are all responsible for recovery, and we are responsible for the decline of the virus, and our commitment will reduce its spread

And 447 patients recovered, taking the total to 17,546. To date, officials said 16,088 are classed as active cases.

Dr Farida Al Hosani, the government's health spokeswoman, reiterated the need for all residents to take responsibility.

"We are passing through a very critical stage," she said at a televised briefing.

She said the country may see cases rises again, particularly if people do not take individual responsibility.

"We have recently observed a relative moderation in the number of cases in the country, as well as a significant improvement in recoveries, but it is difficult to say at the moment that we are in the process of declining," Dr Al Hosani said.

"Today we are all responsible for recovery, and we are responsible for the decline of the virus, and our commitment will reduce its spread."

On Friday and Saturday, residents flocked to public beaches, despite high temperatures. Many cafes and restaurants opened up and hundreds of hotels ramped up staycation offers.

Diya Khuruj, 38, from Mauritius, was relieved to be back at work.

She had spent most of the past two months on unpaid leave, watching TV, movies and cooking new dishes. She was enjoying a visit to Jumeirah Beach on Saturday and was glad to be back at work and earning again.

“For one month, it was a holiday,” she said, but the second month less so.

"I felt excited to go back to work," she said.

On Saturday, Saudi Arabia altered restrictions on gatherings and workplaces to allow larger meet-ups, but instituted heavy fines for rule-breakers.

All areas of Saudi Arabia except Makkah have begun a three-stage lifting of the nationwide stay-at-home order imposed in late March to contain the kingdom’s coronavirus outbreak.

Up to 50 people will be allowed to attend gatherings in homes, farms, or at social events such as mourning and parties, the Ministry of the Interior said. Earlier this month, the kingdom banned gatherings of more than five people.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health confirmed 1,618 new cases of Covid-19 on Saturday, taking the country's total number of cases to 83,384. A further 1,870 people have recovered, taking the total number of recoveries to 58,883.

The Kingdom's death toll has reached 480, after 22 new deaths were recorded.

As restaurants and businesses prepare to reopen following a government announcement on Friday, new penalties have been set for those flouting the rules.

Businesses that allow entry of customers not wearing masks or don’t provide appropriate hand washing or sterilising facilities risk fines of up to 10,000 riyals. People who refuse to wear a mask or adhere to social distancing guidelines will be fined 1,000 riyals, the statement said.

In other developments, the European Union called on the United States to "reconsider" the decision to sever ties with the World Health Organisation over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

The United States was the largest contributor to the WHO budget, providing at least $400 million in annual funding.

"The WHO needs to continue being able to lead the international response to pandemics, current and future," Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said in a joint statement.

"For this, the participation and support of all is required and very much needed."

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

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Correspondents

By Tim Murphy

(Grove Press)

Coming soon

Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura

When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

Akira Back Dubai

Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as,  “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems. 

What are the main cyber security threats?

Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.

The%20Letter%20Writer
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Normcore explained

Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.

SQUADS

South Africa:
Faf du Plessis (capt), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wkt), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Dane Paterson, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada
Coach: Ottis Gibson

Bangladesh:
Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Imrul Kayes, Liton Das (wkt), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), Mustafizur Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Tamim Iqbal, Taskin Ahmed.
Coach: Chandika Hathurusingha

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The Byblos iftar in numbers

29 or 30 days – the number of iftar services held during the holy month

50 staff members required to prepare an iftar

200 to 350 the number of people served iftar nightly

160 litres of the traditional Ramadan drink, jalab, is served in total

500 litres of soup is served during the holy month

200 kilograms of meat is used for various dishes

350 kilograms of onion is used in dishes

5 minutes – the average time that staff have to eat
 

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat