Rado Antolovic — chief executive of Drydocks World — has had at least 12 Covid-19 tests since the virus first spread to the Middle East earlier this year.

In total, employees at the Dubai ship repairer have undergone 6,000 tests. Add the costs of providing masks, sterilising work gear and equipment, and isolating employees to keep its workforce in a safe bubble, and it is easy to see why corona­virus has added substantially to overheads.