Coronavirus: Dubai to extend 24-hour stay-home order for another week

A permit system allowing residents to leave home for essentials will continue

Empty roads in Dubai Marina in mid-April. 24 hour restrictions on leaving home which were in place since March were eased for Ramadan, allowing people to leave home from 6am to 10pm. Pawan Singh / The National

A pedestrian wearing a mask crosses the main street on Palm Jumeirah in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

A police barrier stands in front of Atlantis Hotel, one of the largest hotels in the country. Pawan Singh / The National

The tunnel underneath the palm is usually packed with traffic on a Friday. Pawan Singh / The National

A solitary shopper walks past the yachts quay at Dubai Marina. Pawan Singh / The National

A resident looks out from his apartment building in Dubai Marina. Pawan Singh / The National

A security guard takes the body temperature of a delivery driver in the Al Furjan suburb. Pawan Singh / The National

Talabat delivery drivers, who have permission to operate at all times of day, collect their orders in Dubai Marina. Pawan Singh / The National

A sign in Fujairah urges people to 'stay home' as people do their shopping. Chris Whiteoak / The National

A Dubai Police officer stops the vehicles and checks for permit to leave home near Dubai's Madinat Jumeirah. Pawan Singh / The National

A man has his body temperature reading taken upon arriving at the police station of Naif in Dubai. AFP

The closed open air gym at Skydive Dubai. Antonie Robertson / The National

Dibba Al Hisn’s seafood market. Reem Mohammed / The National

A sign warns people to stay home along the Dubai Marina. Antonie Robertson / The National

Dubai will continue with its 24-hour mandatory stay-home order for another week, the government said on Friday.

The system that requires residents to apply for a police permit to leave home for essential shopping will remain in effect.

The process was brought in two weeks ago to help tackle a rising number of Covid-19 cases.

On Thursday, police tightened the system to ensure residents could only leave home once every three days.

Last week, a senior police chief thanked residents for complying with the order - but voiced frustration at a "reckless" handful of people who tried to get around travel restrictions.

A statement by Dubai's Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management reiterated that members of the public were allowed to go out for:

• Essentials such as buying food - only one family member is permitted to leave the house for this purpose. A permit for this category will be issued only once every three days. Additional requests during this three-day period will be rejected.
• Buying medicines or getting medical assistance from healthcare service providers like hospitals, clinics and pharmacies. Permits for medical visits can be obtained by applying under the medical emergency category.
• Covid-19 tests in clinics and hospitals
• Cash withdrawal: The permit for this category will be issued only once every five days and will allow residents to leave their homes for no more than one hour. During this time, the applicant should only use the nearest ATM and not leave the area in which they live.

Earlier, the government announced that families who had lost a loved one to Covid-19 would be provided for by a UAE government-linked charity.

Emirates Red Crescent was chosen to be patron of families of "all nationalities" who have lost a relative.

Dr Mohammed Al Falahi, secretary-general of ERC, said it would "provide everything that these families need... to overcome the ordeal of losing a loved one", state news agency Wam reported.

Thirty-seven UAE residents had lost their lives to the virus as of Saturday, April 18.

Among them was Nigel Beaton, who died in a government hospital in Dubai last week.

The British events company manager was the first UAE fatality to be publicly-identified. He left behind his wife, Karen and two young daughters, three-year-old Fia and Isla, 6.

"He was an incredible man with a heart of gold," long-time friend Daz Jamieson told The National.