Dubai starts phased opening of parks as testing continues

Dubai announced that it will today reopen dozens of public parks as the emirate gradually eases restrictions that were in place for several weeks to stem the spread of Covid-19.

Authorities said Dubai will restore park services in “gradual and successive phases”.

Seventy neighbourhood parks will welcome visitors from today, followed by

Mushrif, Al Mamzar, Al Khor, Zabeel and Al Safa parks in the final phase on May 25.

Dawoud Al Hajri, director general of Dubai Municipality, said parks would open only after authorities had studied the latest data on the spread of Covid-19.

The UAE yesterday revealed it had conducted a further 40,000 tests for Covid-19 as officials intensified efforts to combat the virus.

The rigorous testing process identified 731 new cases, pushing the country’s total to 23,358.

Authorities confirmed another six patients had died, bringing the death toll linked to the virus to 220.

The latest figures showed an additional 581 patients had recovered, as this tally climbed to 8,512.

Meanwhile, Kuwait and Qatar announced prison terms and fines of up to tens of thousands of dirhams for failure to wear a face mask in public as case numbers in the Gulf region continue to rise. Saudi Arabia reported 2,736 new infections yesterday.

With the prospect of greater numbers of people mixing during Eid Al Fitr next weekend, Egypt followed the kingdom’s lead in tightening restrictions for the festival.

The city of Wuhan in China, where the coronavirus outbreak originated, conducted 222,675 nucleic acid tests on Saturday, the local health authority said yesterday, nearly double the number conducted the day before.

Wuhan launched a campaign on May 14 to look for asymptomatic carriers after last weekend confirming its first cluster of Covid-19 infections since its release from a virtual lockdown on April 8.