Dubai: Dubai has ordered hospitals to cancel nonessential surgeries till February as coronavirus cases surge in the United Arab Emirates.
Dubai’s health authority, in a directive to state-run and private health centers, said medical operations “may be allowed to continue only per medical urgency” as it tries to keep its hospitals from becoming overrun.
For the ninth day, the UAE broke its record for new cases, reporting 3,509 infections.
The UAE does not release location data for cases, making it difficult to find which of the sheikhdoms has been hardest hit by the virus.
Dubai’s economy is built on aviation, hospitality and retail, and has stayed open amid skyrocketing cases.
The capital Abu Dhabi meanwhile has retained tighter curbs.
Daily infections in the UAE have tripled since November.
Thousands of tourists swarmed Dubai for New Year’s Eve and holidays of late.
The emirate mandates social distancing and masks but a sense of normalcy prevails.
Covid-19 has infected more than 250,000 people and killed 762 despite an aggressive testing campaign.
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