A total of 11 shops were ordered to close in Dubai while more than 250 fines were also issued during March in relation to coronavirus rule violations.
The Commercial Compliance & Consumer Protection (CCCP) sector in Dubai Economy said it closed shops, issued fines to 252 and warned 61 during March after they were found to have violated the precautionary guidelines in place to limit the spread of Covid-19.
The violations, found during inspections conducted across open markets and shopping centres in the emirate, were mostly related to wearing masks and physical distancing, the CCCP said in a statement.
Abdul Aziz Al Tannak, director of commercial control in Dubai Economy, said: “Dubai Economy has intensified our inspections and in March, we saw that 16,475 stores across the emirate fully complied with the precautionary guidelines.
“It represents an exceptional 98.1 percent commitment overall to preventing Covid-19. Dubai Economy will continue the inspections along with our various partners and will not tolerate any violation or malpractice detected or reported by the public.
“Businesses should strictly adhere to precautionary measures, such as, wearing masks and gloves, and maintaining physical distancing.”
The figures come as the UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) announced 2,012 new coronavirus cases on Monday, bringing the total number of recorded cases in the UAE to 472,148.
According to the ministry, there were two further deaths, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 1,512.
MoHAP also noted that an additional 2,147 individuals had fully recovered from Covid-19, bringing the total number of recoveries to 456,747.