COVID-19: Who can leave the house amid Dubai's 24-hour disinfection drive?

Dubai: A number of restrictions have come into play in the emirate of Dubai, on Saturday, as it extended the sterilisation programme to 24 hours a day across all areas and communities in the emirate.

Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management, in coordination with the Command and Control Centre for Combating COVID-19 also announced intensified restrictions on the movement of people and vehicles.

Does this mean we can’t go out at all?

No, if you work in some sectors, you are exempt from this rule.

Here’s a list of these sectors, members of which are exempted from restrictions 24 hours a day:

- Healthcare services (Hospitals, clinics and pharmacies)

- Food supply outlets (Union Cooperative outlets, supermarkets, groceries)

- Delivery services (Food and medicine)

- Restaurants (operations limited to home deliveries only)

- Manufacturers of medicines and providers of healthcare and medical supplies

- Industrial sector (only vital industries)

- Industrial supply chain for services and basic commodities

- Water and electricity sector, petrol and gas stations and district cooling services

- Telecommunications sector

- Media sector

- Airports, airlines, ports, shipping

- Customs duty and border crossings

- Public and private security services

- Municipality services and public and private service providers involved in garbage collection, sewage management and general cleaning and sanitation

- Private and government sector organisations involved in combating the coronavirus (COVID-19).

- Public transport (buses and taxis only; metro and tram services will be suspended)

- Construction sector, subject to obtaining a permit from Dubai Municipality and the Permanent Committee for Labour Affairs.