Covid-19: Dubai’s over-the-top delivery culture makes lockdown easier

Mullika Indy refills a car using a mini tanker outside a client’s house in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. While in better times, Dubai’s over-the-top delivery culture made life easy for citizens and expats who could summon groceries and services within minutes, it also means the wealthy emirate is ideally positioned for the ‘stay-at-home’ coronavirus challenge as it undergoes a strict 24-hour lockdown. — Photos: AFP

DUBAI: Tamara, one of Dubai’s many foreign residents, hasn’t been to a petrol station in years – a click on a smartphone app is all it takes to bring a mini tanker to her doorstep.

In better times, the wealthy emirate’s over-the-top delivery culture made life easy for citizens and expats who could summon groceries and services – even a single chocolate bar – within minutes.