(Corrects general infections in paragraph 7)
DUBAI, August 21 (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates could simply reintroduce a de facto night curfew to parts of the country if there is a high number of COVID-19 infections there, a government official said.
The Arab Gulf state saw the number of cases accumulated this week to more than 400 for the first time since mid-July, adding 461 infections and two deaths within 24 hours of Thursday.
When asked if the national sterilization program, which included a curfew at night, could be redeployed, the spokesman for the National Emergency Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA), Seif al-Zahri, told Emirates TV: “Yes, it is imaginable in some spaces where we are seeing the major infections.”
NCEMA, which posted an excerpt of the interview on its Twitter page on Thursday night, cannot be contacted without delay to comment outside business hours.
On 24 June, the regional business and tourism centre has built a national curfew in force since mid-March and advertising companies and public offerings reopened.
Health Minister Abdul Rahman Bin Mohammed al-Owais warned Tuesday that the number of cases could occur just after an “alarming” build-up in the past two weeks.
The United Arab Emirates recorded 65,802 infections and 369 deaths. The government reveals where infections or deaths occurred in the country of seven emirates or states.
The infection rate fell from a peak of more than 900 at the end of May, however, the country has experienced periodic peaks ever since, despite a general downward finish. (Written through Alexander Cornwell; Edited through Sam Holmes)
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