Organisers of Expo 2020 Dubai have warned that some venues might need to close temporarily as the mega event ramps up measures to protect visitors from a jump in coronavirus cases.
Visits to Expo 2020 Dubai continue to climb substantially, increasing to 8,067,012 in the period up to December 27, a statement said.
But organisers also cautioned that venues may also close temporarily for deep cleaning and sanitisation in response to positive cases detected by extensive workforce testing protocols, as well as for maintenance, private events and staff shortages.
On Monday, the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) announced 1,732 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours as cases continue to rise steeply following the discovery of the Omicron variant earlier this month, bringing the total number of recorded cases in the UAE to 753,065.
MoHAP also announced one death due to Covid-19 complications, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 2,159 and also noted that an additional 608 individuals had fully recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 741,933.
Expo’s stringent Covid-19 safety measures include mandatory mask-wearing indoors and outdoors for visitors, as well as all staff and participants.
The largest major global event to be held since the start of the pandemic, Expo 2020’s Covid-19 measures also include the expansion of the number of on-site PCR testing facilities to four and free testing for all country pavilion staff.
While all frontline workers and entertainers continue to be tested on a regular basis, some close contact events, such as parades and roving entertainers, have been temporarily suspended as a short-term precautionary measure.
With more than 90 percent of the UAE population fully vaccinated, Expo 2020 Dubai has required mandatory vaccination and boosters of all Expo and international participant staff, volunteers, contractors and service providers.
The next seven days promise another host of events to entertain, with a special focus on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
Helping visitors ring in 2022 will be two of the world’s biggest DJs – Dimitri Vegas, who will perform at Jubilee Park from 11.30pm local time, and Armin Van Buuren (pictured below), the famous producer of electronic music, who will be in action from 1.30am.
New Year’s Eve will also see numerous Arab, Filipino and Indian DJs performing sets, and there will be a midnight ‘ball drop’ moment at Al Wasl Plaza, as well as two separate fireworks displays at midnight and 3am GST.
Expo 2020’s virtual visitation rose to 37 million up to December 27. The event runs until March 31 2022.
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