Dubai eases COVID-19 restrictions, allows full hotel capacity

[May 17, 2021]  DUBAI (Reuters) - Dubai on Monday eased COVID-19 restrictions, allowing hotels in the regional tourism hub to operate at full capacity and permitting concerts and sports events where all attendees and participants have been vaccinated.

The United Arab Emirates ranks highly globally for COVID-19 testing and vaccination rates.

Social distancing and compulsory face masks will continue, Dubai's Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management said. Capacities for restaurants and entertainment venues also increased.

Dubai has pushed to keep its economy, which relies on international trade and business, open through the pandemic after an initial lockdown. The emirate is due to host the Expo 2020 world fair from October, hoping to attract millions of overseas visitors.

The UAE has in recent weeks banned entry from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka to guard against the spread of the highly contagious Indian variant.

(Writing by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Giles Elgood)

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