Non-Compliance with Wearing a Mask as a Precaution Limit the Spread of COVID-19 in the Society: Is It Considered a Crime in the UAE Federal Legislation? A Comparative Study

The COVID-19 epidemic has left government institutions vulnerable to deteriorating circumstances and spurred governments worldwide to take various policy actions. The type and success of policy responses to the pandemic have varied considerably. This article focuses on wearing a mask during COVID-19 and its non-compliance as a crime and examines the UAE's policy. The research adopts a comparative research methodology and compares Middle East, Gulf, and the United States law against wearing a mask during the COVID-19 outbreak. The findings claim that the UAE legislator considers non-compliance with wearing a mask in violation of the preventive measures regarding maintaining health and safety to prevent the risks of the spread of COVID-19. It is stated in the text of Article 348 of the Penal Code that whoever deliberately commits an act that endangers the life of people at risk should be punished under the law. As for the Gulf countries, for example, Qatar and Kuwait, they included imaginary penalties of up to 3 years imprisonment and a fine of up to 55 thousand dollars. As for the European and American countries, they will not reach the prison sentence, and only that wearing a mask or a mask is mandatory in crowded places, and the matter varies from place to place. We conclude that there is a difference in punishment between Arab and Gulf legislation, but it deals with the issue seriously and strictly, unlike European countries and the United States of America, where they have some flexibility.