Earlier this week, Dubai officials announced that motorists who do not wear a face mask while driving will incur a fine in Dubai.
According to Dubai Police, 233 warnings have been issued for not wearing a mask in enclosed places and failing to keep a safe distance. Five fines were also issued.
Brigadier Saif Muhair Al Mazroui, Director of Traffic Department at Dubai Police, said the official spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP), Dr Farida Al Hosani, had stressed the importance for everyone to wear masks even if you don’t have symptoms.
“We issued a circular on the importance of wearing masks inside cars,” said Al Mazroui. “Dubai Police issued warning fines to drivers who are not wearing masks while driving as part of the precautionary measures,” he added.
According to Dubai Police, a warning fine is a warning which precedes a fine is the offence is repeated.
Several drivers in Dubai have received a warning ticket in the form of an SMS on their mobile phones. In the text is a message informing the offender to adhere to the laws.
The fine for not wearing a mask is AED 1,000.
“We issued warning fines at the beginning for the public so that people wouldn’t claim that they didn’t know about the order,” he said. “If a person didn’t comply with the order then a real fine will be issued.”
A fine will be issued to all drivers even if they have a mask on and their passengers do not.
Al Mazroui said that instructions were clear, especially when it came to movement restrictions.
Drivers caught on the first day of the sterilisation program were exempt following the orders of UAE leaders.
Earlier this week, Dubai Police announced that they issued 2,257 fines to violates of the movement restrictions in place during the National Sterlisiation Programme.
A further 2,076 warnings and eight fines were issued to people violating safety instructions, while another 204 warnings were issued to drivers for exceeding the number of passengers in a vehicle. The limit is three.
Dubai Police General Command stressed for the public to stay indoors and adhere to the precautionary measures announced during the National Sterilisation Programme.
In other Emirates, Abu Dhabi Police are clamping down on road users discarding gloves and face mask out the window of the car.
Photo credit: Gulf News.
