Covid in Dubai: 20 eateries fined for hosting diners after permitted working hours

Dubai - Most violations were either failure to wear masks or crowding.

The Dubai Economy issued 56 fines for violations of Covid-19 precautionary guidelines on Saturday.

The fines were issued during inspections conducted across open markets, shopping malls and commercial establishments.

Most of the violations were failure to wear masks and crowding.

The inspection team fined 32 shops in shopping malls for failure to ensure social distancing and wearing masks; 20 restaurants and cafes for providing dine-in services after permitted working hours; and four open market shops for non-compliance with precautionary measures.

The non-compliant shops were located in shopping malls and open market outlets in Al Barsha, Hor Al Anz, Dubai Marina, and Saih Shuaib.

Social distancing violations were mostly spotted at payment counters, as shoppers thronged malls for super sale promotions.

The Dubai Economy said it will continue conducting inspections "with a special focus on shopping malls and locations that might see crowding".

These measures are being taken to ensure the highest levels of public safety.

Dubai Economy stressed that it is following a zero-tolerance policy on Covid safety violations.

The authority directed traders to strictly adhere to precautionary measures and called on the public to report any violations or non-compliance either on its app or 600545555.

sahim@khaleejtimes.com