Dubai reduces social distancing to one metre

The change applies, among others, to restaurants and cafes, shopping centres, gyms and beaches

The Dubai government has reduced the two-metre social distancing rule to a metre in some locations in the emirate.

An email sent by the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing to local businesses said restaurants and cafes, shopping centres, gyms, beaches, public and entertainment parks, offices and workplaces no longer needed to keep customers and clients two metres apart.

“This is a remarkable achievement after the challenging 19 months we had all endured,” Naim Maadad, founder of Gates Hospitality, told The National.

“A step in the right direction yet again and we are well on the road to full recovery.

“The onus though remains on all of us to enforce such regulations responsibly.”

Social distancing of two metres was put into place last year to help curb the spread of Covid-19.

This autumn, cases have fallen below 100 a day in the UAE, thanks to a combination of regular testing and an extensive vaccination programme. More than 98 per cent of people in the UAE have received one dose, and more than 88 per cent are fully vaccinated, with most residents receiving either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Sinopharm vaccines.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was approved for emergency use in children aged between 5 and 11 in the UAE this week.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, said last month that the UAE had “overcome the Covid-19 crisis”.

Masks are still required in public areas, with some exceptions.