Coronavirus: Public told to wear masks at all times as UAE confirms 241 new cases

Residents should cover their faces whenever they leave home, officials said as total hit 1,505

Carrefour shoppers at the parking lot with their groceries at the Yas Mall. Victor Besa / The National

People wearing protective face mask after doing shopping at the Carrefour supermarket in Ibn Battuta mall in Dubai. UAE government told residents to wear facemask and gloves all the times outside the home. Pawan Singh / The National

A grocery shopper with a face mask on at Souk Planet, Khalifa City. Face masks should be worn at all times when outside the home, the UAE government said on Saturday. Victor Besa / The National

People wearing protective face mask after doing shopping at the Carrefour in Discovery Pavilion in Discovery Gardens area in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

A delivery driver stacks water to provide to residents in an extremely quiet Jumeirah Beach Residence in Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National

One of the shopper with protective face mask after doing shopping at the Carrefour supermarket in Ibn Battuta mall in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, April 5, 2020. Grocery shoppers with face mask s on at Souk Planet, Khalifa City. Face masks should be worn at all times when outside the home, the UAE government said on Saturday. Victor Besa / The National

A construction worker crosses the street with a mask on at Khalifa City, Abu Dhabi. Face masks should be worn at all times when outside the home. Victor Besa / The National

A lone Zomato delivery man crosses the Al Bandar overpass at Khalifa City. Victor Besa / The National

The Warner Brothers theme park on Yas Island was temporarily closed during the pandemic. Victor Besa / The National

Barriers in place at Sunset Beach near Jumeirah Beach Hotel, during the height of the pandemic. Antonie Robertson / The National

A cleaner drives a street sweeper in Jumeirah, Dubai. Antonie Robertson / The National

Pharmacies across the country have seen a spike in sales of face masks. Antonie Robertson / The National

A man prays alone in a car park in Sharjah when mosques, churches and temples were temporarily closed. Antonie Robertson / The National

Lines of taxis sit outside Global Village in Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National

A healthcare worker on her way to work on a gloomy Monday morning at the Al Mushrif area of Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National

During the height of the pandemic the RTA closed entrances leading to Al Ras area of Dubai from three main roads and interchanges: Al Musalla, Al Khaleej, and Baniyas Streets. Reem Mohammed / The National

An empty Sunset Beach located between the Jumeirah Beach Hotel and Kite Beach in Dubai. Antonie Robertson / The National

A man walks, while wearing a mask, to get to work in Dubai during the stay home policy in the UAE. Antonie Robertson / The National .

A man cleans the Barsha Heights welcome sign at the entrance to the neighbourhood in Dubai. Antonie Robertson / The National

Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management announced increased restrictions on movement in Al Ras area of Dubai for two weeks to facilitate intensified sterilisation procedures in 2020. Reem Mohammed / The National

A sign at Global Village thanking Dubai's heroes. Chris Whiteoak / The National

A man waits on the street with a face mask on outside a restaurant in Barsha Heights in Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Latest: Dubai to impose new restrictions on travel and shopping

Face masks should be worn at all times when outside the home, the Government said on Saturday. 

Residents were urged to buy or use home-made masks to cover the mouth and nose, health sector spokeswoman Dr Farida Al Hosani said.

Even basic masks offer some protection and could prevent the spread of germs from coughing, she said.

“An alternative option, in the absence of a medical mask, is to cover the nose and mouth using paper masks,” Dr Al Hosani said. 

"Or use home-made masks made of cotton or mixed cotton, making sure to re-wash them.

"When I wear a mask I'm protecting you and when you wear it, you're protecting me."

The message came as 241 new Covid-19 cases were confirmed, taking the total to 1,505. The death of an Arab national, aged 53, took the death toll to 10. Seventeen more people recovered, for a total of 125.

The new tally means the number of cases almost tripled in a week.

Dr Al Hosani said the rise was expected and would continue as a result of "early, intensive tests on a big scale to identify cases and who they were in contact with".

She confirmed for the first time that some patients will be allowed to recover at home, if their symptoms were mild.

"We're having home quarantine and quarantine in specialist isolation facilities, based on the severity of cases," she said.

Any decision to allow home recovery would be based on how many people the patient lived with and the guarantee they could be kept separate, she said.

Officials also updated the public on the economic effects of the virus, in a briefing by Humaid Al Mehairi, spokesman for the Ministry of Economy.

"The national economy of the UAE is competitive, resilient and has strong links with economies globally, therefore it is impacted by the current crisis," he said.

He said efforts were under way to ensure that supermarkets and food suppliers have access to the goods they need. The ministry has a database of 1,600 main outlets that provide the public with essential items.

"We have a clear plan in order to have enough stock of the main commodities in continuous supply.

"Further, we have co-ordinated with suppliers and outlets to guarantee the selling of those goods at reasonable prices."

The time it takes to clear food shipments at customs has been cut from two days to only a few hours, he said.

Extra staff were also drafted in to probe price hiking and retailers were told they cannot make more than 5 per cent profit on hand sanitisers and disinfectants.

Mr Al Mehairi repeated the need to avoid stockpiling food at home.

"During this crisis we've had some consumption habits which were not really sound, such as overbuying and storing food at home," he said.

"You don't need to have that – our markets do not have any shortage ... and local production [of goods] continues.

"We ask all people to feel confident and not to overbuy."

Mr Al Mehairi said officials were aware of the clear effects on the tourism industry, but predicted it would bounce back as the situation improves.

"The tourism sector is one of the most impacted by the current crisis due to the suspension of flights, travel and movement," he said. "Despite that, it has strong fundamentals and it is expected it will be the first sector to recover after the crisis."

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