DUBAI — Dubai, the commercial hub of the United Arab Emirates, tightened its lockdown for one of the oldest parts of the city on Tuesday for the next two weeks to battle the spreading novel coronavirus.
The city’s al-Ras area, home to a gold market and spice market, is densely populated, largely with residents from South Asia and Iran. And it has some of the more traditional buildings in a city otherwise known for glitzy malls and towering skyscrapers.
Further messages said the three main roads leading into the neighborhood would be blocked and three metro stations would be shuttered, while everyone except residents of the area would be barred from entering.
“Teams from the Dubai Health Authority will provide all essential supplies to the residents of the area during the two-week period,” read another announcement, suggesting that no one would be allowed to leave to purchase food.
Since Thursday, the wealthy Persian Gulf emirate has been locking down nearly all movement at night to conduct deep-cleaning operations of public transportation and streets, with police in patrol vehicles ordering residents to stay home and helicopters buzzing overhead. The new measures focused on the al-Ras neighborhood, however, signal an escalation, raising worries about the spread of the pandemic.
The UAE has reported 611 cases, three-quarters of them in the past week. Five fatalities have been announced.
Organizers of Dubai’s Expo 2020 World’s Fair also said Monday they support the one-year postponement of the six-month event set to begin in October.
“Many countries have been significantly impacted by covid-19 and they have expressed a need to postpone Expo’s opening by one year, to enable them to overcome this challenge,” tweeted organizers.
Dubai’s crown prince, Hamdan bin Mohammed, also announced Tuesday that the government would inject an undisclosed amount of equity into the flagship long-haul airline, Emirates, “considering its strategic importance to the Dubai and UAE economy.”
One of the world’s biggest long-haul airlines, Emirates has turned Dubai into a global travel hub, but on March 24, all passenger flights into and out of the country were suspended.
