Dubai shuts down 11 shops for violating Covid-19 rules

Dubai Economy closed 11 shops, issued fines to 252, and warned another 61 stores during March after they were found to have violated the precautionary guidelines in place to limit the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The violations, which were found during inspections conducted across open markets and shopping centres in the emirate, were largely related to not wearing masks in public places and flouting social distancing norms.

"Dubai Economy has intensified our inspections in March. We saw that 16,475 stores across the emirate fully complied with the precautionary guidelines. It represents an exceptional 98.1 per cent commitment to contain the spread of Covid-19. Dubai Economy will continue the inspections along with our various partners and will not tolerate any violation detected or reported by the public," said Abdul Aziz Al Tannak, Director of Commercial Control, Dubai Economy.

He said: "Businesses should strictly adhere to precautionary measures, such as wearing masks and gloves, and maintaining social distancing."

Dubai Economy also urged consumers to report any negative practice that violates the precautionary guidelines against Covid-19 through the Dubai Consumer App available on Apple, Google, and Huawei stores, by calling 600545555 or by lodging a complaint on the consumerrights.ae website.

waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com