Dubai on Friday launched a mobile testing service to carry out free coronavirus screening at home for the elderly and most vulnerable, after slightly easing strict controls on movement.
The new "Mobile Laboratory Units" are converted ambulances fitted with auto-sterilisation equipment, thermal scanners and safe storage cabins for samples, state news agency WAM reported.
They will "play a key role in reducing pressure on hospitals amidst the Covid-19 crisis and help protect people at high risk," it said.
Dubai and fellow members of the United Arab Emirates decided Thursday to reopen malls, cafes and restaurants and to ease lockdown restrictions imposed last month to prevent the spread of the illness.
The measures were timed for the start on Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.
The UAE has declared more than 9,000 cases of the Covid-19 illness, with 64 deaths.
The government of Dubai eased restrictions on personal travel on Friday, allowing free movement during the day for the first time since early April.
Dubai has also authorised public transport, including its metro, to resume services from Sunday.
Residents are however required to wear face masks at all times, with violators facing a Dh1000 fine.
Dubai eases Covid-19 restrictions
Dubai, home to more than three million people, had faced the strictest restrictions in the UAE, with residents requiring an online permit from police to leave home to buy essentials from supermarkets and pharmacies.
