Smoking shisha was among the first activities to be prohibited in March as the authorities acted to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
Smoking shisha was among the first activities to be prohibited in March as the authorities acted to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
Smoking shisha was among the first activities to be prohibited in March as the authorities acted to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
Smoking shisha was among the first activities to be prohibited in March as the authorities acted to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

Coronavirus: Dubai to allow shisha smoking in cafes from Saturday


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Dubai allowed cafes to serve shisha from Saturday - five months after it was banned due to the virus outbreak.

Dubai Municipality gave premises the go-ahead to resume service of the popular practice as long as precautionary measures were taken.

The tendency to either share a pipe with a friend or sit in close proximity meant shisha was one of the first activities to be restricted on March 12, a day after Abu Dhabi imposed an emirate-wide ban.

Bars and restaurants were closed soon after but have since reopened.

Officials warned operators that social distancing and strict hygiene standards must be adhered to and that "regular inspections will be conducted to ensure compliance'".

As with much of the service industry, staff must wear masks at all times and clean pipes and hookahs after every use.

Only disposable shisha hoses can be used and groups are not allowed to sit together.

Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021

Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.

The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.

These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.

“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.

“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.

“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.

“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”

Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.

There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.

“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.

“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.

“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo 

 Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua

 Based: Dubai, UAE

 Number of employees: 28

 Sector: Financial services

 Investment: $9.5m

 Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. 

 
UAE players with central contracts

Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.

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