A spokesperson for the Dubai’s Expo 2020 said the virus outbreaks among staff may force some parts of the fair to “close temporarily for deep cleansing and sanitisation,” without elaborating on the scope or the location of the infections.
The multibillion-dollar world’s fair in Dubai has warned that some venues on site may shut down as coronavirus cases rapidly rise in the United Arab Emirates, a report in The Peninsula, Qatar, says
A spokesperson for the Dubai’s Expo 2020 said the virus outbreaks among staff may force some parts of the fair to “close temporarily for deep cleansing and sanitisation,” without elaborating on the scope or the location of the infections.
The UAE’s daily virus caseload has gone up by 37 in just the last three weeks after the arrival of the omicron variant.
The statement from Dubai’s government-run media office on Monday, December 28 underscores the challenges of hosting among the world’s first major in-person events amid a still-raging pandemic.
The Dubai Expo opened in October after a year’s delay confident that its rapid vaccine rollout would allow its economy to avoid the closures that have paralysed much of the West.
Expo tries to enforce various virus precautions, with face masks mandatory on the fairgrounds and a vaccination certificate or recent negative virus test needed for entry. But the highly transmissible omicron variant, which is thought to evade immunity from vaccination, poses a new threat.
There have been no visible observance of social distancing at Expo’s massive concerts in recent weeks where revellers have crowded up against each other, waving their hands to the music.
With Dubai’s peak winter tourism season in full swing, the world’s fair has vaulted into the spotlight. Millions of tourists from around the world are flocking to the sprawling site packed with scores of national pavilions, restaurants, shops and performance stages.
New Year’s Eve events last year in Dubai helped drive a drastic surge in virus cases in the Emirates as tourists escaped lockdowns at home. Infections now hover below those heights but are climbing fast. The daily infection toll exceeded 1,840 on Tuesday, the highest in six months.
Abu Dhabi on Tuesday increased virus checks on the highway from Dubai to make sure all vaccinated drivers also had tested negative within the last two weeks.
Emirati authorities have reported few daily hospitalisations and deaths among the UAE’s nearly 10 million people, of which over 90% are fully vaccinated.
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