People gather near to Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, prior to the fireworks of New Year's eve 2020 in the Gulf emirate of Dubai
Credit: REX/REX
The United Arab Emirates is facing questions for allowing the party lifestyle of Dubai to continue in a pandemic, amid fears that thousands who flocked to the Gulf state for sunbathing and cocktails have ended up spreading Covid around the world.
After opening its borders to New Year’s Eve revellers, including a host of British Instagram "influencers", several countries have blamed Dubai for exacerbating the pandemic.
On Thursday Britain announced a ban on all direct flights from the United Arab Emirates [UAE] which came into effect at 1pm.
Dubai, famous for its sun-soaked beaches, skyscrapers and luxury lifestyle, was one of the first countries to reopen its borders in July in a bid to rescue its tourism industry.
Instagram influencer Molly Mae Hague
Since then, tourists have partied on beaches, bars and yachts without face masks, while on New Year’s Eve they were treated to lavish firework displays.
The party ended abruptly this week after soaring numbers of coronavirus infections prompted Emirati authorities to impose a ban on live entertainment and step up testing at airports.
Dubai also dismissed its public health chief as the rate of coronavirus infections reached record levels, with nearly 4,000 cases recorded on Thursday according to official figures.
The festivities have been blamed for the surge in cases since January 1, which has risen by 80,000 to a total of 289,000 cases in the UAE.
Coronavirus UAE Spotlight Chart — Cases default
One UAE-based doctor told the Telegraph that the rate of infection rose sharply during Christmas and New Year celebrations, which are feared to have been key super-spreader events.
“If we study the graph of Covid infections in the UAE, we can see that the cases were very low in August, then it started increasing in September to October, remained almost status quo in November and December and started increasing from the end of December onwards," they said.
One Israeli tourist said it was inevitable that the Emirati decision to open the borders had led to lavish parties and a series of so-called super-spreader events.
"Everyone was dying to let their hair down after a hell of a year. It was not a surprise that when New Year came everyone just wanted to have a good time."
Denmark already discovered one traveller coming from Dubai who tested positive for the South African variant, the first such discovery there. Like Britain, Danish celebrities similarly travelled to Dubai for the New Year.
In the Philippines, health authorities say they discovered a British strain infecting a Filipino who made a business trip to Dubai on December 27. He returned to the Philippines on January 7 and tested positive.
In Israel, more than 900 travelers returning from Dubai have been infected with the coronavirus, according to the military, which conducts contact tracing.
The returnees created a chain of infections numbering more than 4,000 people, it said.
Britons stuck in Dubai said they were anxiously trying to reschedule travel so they can return to the UK.
“We have delayed our shipping, extended our rental contract, and luckily my employer will continue to provide health insurance for me and family until we can depart," said Dubai resident Shahzad Alam.
"We are also exploring the alternative of travelling via Dublin, but this option may not be there in two weeks’ time.”
Mike Jones, a corporate jet pilot, flew to Dubai for work in the aviation sector at the beginning of January and was supposed to go home for a week’s leave on Feb 4.
He said: “I was coming back out with my wife and daughter, but obviously I’m not sure what we can do now.”
A spokesman for Emirates, which runs regular flights between the UK and UAE, said it “regrets the inconvenience caused" by the travel ban and urged affected customers to contact travel agents or call centres for rebooking,
British Instagram influencers have been criticised for flocking to Dubai in the middle of a pandemic, but some have defended the move as they say their work is essential.
Among them is Georgia Harrison, who this week has been posting selfies to her 1.1m followers, as well as swimwear photoshoots and videos of a visit to a luxury car dealership.
In a message posted on Friday she said she wanted to do "something spiritual" and was looking forward to seeing a full moon in the evening, suggesting she was undeterred by the UK travel ban.
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Another British Instagram star, James Lock, posted a video on Thursday of a trip to an indoor ski slope.
He also posted a picture of himself posing on a sun-bleached rooftop with the caption "every sunset is an opportunity to reset."
Sophia Peschisolido, a British Instagram influencer and the daughter of Baroness Brady, has also been posting content from the UAE.
Amy Wilson, a make-up artist and influencer from Sheffield, said she had managed to get a flight out of Dubai just before the UK travel ban came into effect.
“Can’t believe how lucky me and Jack have been with flights. Got back from Turkey two hours before the quarantine deadline and getting the last flight home from Dubai before the UK closes its borders to the UAE,” she wrote on Twitter.
But Honey Evans, an influencer from Leeds, said she would be riding out the pandemic in Dubai for the time being.
She posted on Twitter: “Flights from Dubai to the UK are banned. Guess I have no choice but to stay out here. Shame.’
A Dubai spokesman has defended the decision to reopen the tourism industry and insists that the situation is under control.
"After a year of managing the pandemic, we can confidently say the current situation is under control and we have our plans to surge any capacity in the health care system should a need rise," they said in a statement.
However a former finance chief, Nasser al-Shaikh, criticised the government’s response in a post on Twitter.
"The leadership bases its decisions on recommendations from the team, the wrong recommendations which put human souls in danger and negatively affect our society," he said.
Britain announced the UAE travel ban at 5pm on Thursday which gave the estimated 10,000 Britons based in Dubai just 24 hours to return if they wished to do so.
Returning passengers must present a negative Covid test or face a fine of up to £500, Grant Shapps, the UK transport secretary, said.
The UK has also updated its travel rules so that business trips to Dubai are no longer considered “essential.”
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