Coronavirus: Dubai’s five-star hotels turned into isolation centers

Dubai authorities have been isolating citizens returning from abroad for 14 days in luxury properties before they are permitted to re-enter society as part of preventive measures to curb the spread of the new coronavirus pandemic.

Bushra Rahoumi, commander of Dubai City National Emergency Response Volunteer Program, says most of those who are repatriated are students or citizens who were abroad for treatment.

“We try to provide all their demands, whether on the matters of health or education to make it (quarantine) easier for them, like a home that meets all their needs and so they don’t feel that they are in an isolated or restricted place,” said Rahoumi.

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The UAE has officially recorded 4521 COVID-19 cases and 25 deaths from the respiratory disease.

“People whose safety has been assured are sometimes permitted to leave, with a guarantee that they will follow the instructions of self-quarantine in their homes,” Rahoumi added.

Asmaa al-Shehh, a guest at one of the five-star hotels which were turned into isolation centers, said she was in London to visit her daughter when she received a call from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“I [originally] refused to return, but after the situation got worse, we decided to return. Today is our ninth day (in quarantine) and today we will return home,” al-Shehh said.

With AFP