The website that helps authorities in Dubai issue movement permits amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic can receive as many as 1,200 requests per minute, according to local media.

Given the high volume of requests, the Dubai Movement Permit Registration website, issuing the permit can take a little longer than planned, according to the director of Dubai Police’s traffic department.

“Sometimes issuing the permit is delayed because of online traffic,” Brigadier Saif Muhair Al Mazroui was quoted as saying in Gulf News.

Al Mazroui added that the “the smart system updates all the time with people’s movements to know if the person has violated the moment order. Having the permit doesn’t mean people can travel across different areas in the emirate.”

Additionally, Al Mazroui said that – when necessary – members of the public should purchase supplies from outlets that are close by, and purchase enough so that they don’t need to return on a daily basis.

“The supermarket became like a mall for some people who are using it an excuse to go out walking,” he said. “People should buy enough food for a week in order not to go out many times.”

The Gulf News report also quoted Colonel Turki bin Faris, the director of the Command and General Control centre at Dubai Police, said that Dubai’s 999 emergency number has been receiving about 27,000 calls per day since the 24-hour sterilisation programme was announced, compared to 20,000 last year.