Coronavirus in UAE: Lulu, Carrefour to operate as usual

Supermarket chains in UAE on Monday announced that they would operate as usual during the two-week closure of malls, commercial shopping centres and fish, meat and vegetables markets in the country.

The two-week closure was announced by the UAE government as part of measures to contain the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus.

The decision excludes pharmacies, and food retail outlets, including cooperative societies, grocery stores, and supermarkets, along with fish, meat and vegetables markets dealing with wholesalers.

Lulu Group and Carrefour, two large supermarket chains operating in the country, said they will continue to operate as normal.

Lulu confirmed in a statement that "all its branches in UAE will continue to function as usual from 8am to 12 midnight every day. There will not be any changes in operation timings as per the latest announcement from the authorities".

"Lulu is working very closely with various suppliers, government authorities and logistics partners to ensure uninterrupted supply of all category products, especially essentials. Both, Lulu hypermarkets and the warehouses across the UAE are very well stocked and there is absolutely no need for any anxiety or panic buying," the statement said.

Carrefour, too, said that all its stores will operate as usual.

"While shopping malls are closing in the UAE, all our stores remain open and fully stocked for customers, operating at our regular times," a Carrefour statement said.

"We encourage all our valued customers to shop responsibly and be mindful of others. We have full confidence in our stock and supply chain and we continue to monitor stock levels to ensure we adequately cater to customer needs. We are also working closely with suppliers to ensure that essential products remain at reasonable prices so that our customers don't experience an increase in their shopping bills," the statement added.