January 19, 2021 / 04:29 PM IST
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Dubai, party haven amid pandemic, faces its biggest surge
Masks off the minute you step inside. Bars packed and pulsing like it is 2019. Since becoming one of the world’s first destinations to open up for tourism, Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, has promoted itself as the ideal pandemic vacation spot. It cannot afford otherwise, analysts say, as the virus shakes the foundations of the city-state’s economy.
Now, reality is catching up to the big-dreaming emirate. With peak tourism season in full swing, coronavirus infections are surging to unprecedented heights. Daily case counts have nearly tripled in the past month, forcing Britain to slam shut its travel corridor with Dubai last week.