Prayer rooms in UAE commercial centres to reopen

Prayer rooms in commercial centres and towers will be reopened on Monday, July 20, in line with the partial easing of restrictions on movement and in order to gradually return to normal life.

However, certain restrictions will remain, the General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Endowments and the National Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Management Authority have announced.

The capacity limit has been set at 30 per cent, official news agency WAM reported.

Worshippers will need to adhere to the precautionary measures previously announced in regards to the opening of mosques and prayers room including: Physical distancing of at least 2 metres, prohibiting gatherings before and after prayer, avoiding shaking hands and sterilising hands before visiting the prayer rooms, and wearing masks.

Officials also said worshippers must read the Qur’an using their own personal electronic devices, such as a smartphone and use a single-use prayer mat – which will be provided in the prayer rooms They have also been urged to download the Al Hosn Covid-19 tracing app on their smartphones.

The ablution places will need to be sterilised after they are used by each worshipper, while the prayers rooms have to be sterilised and kept closed after every prayer.

The UAE reported 289 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, taking total number of infections in the country to 56,711.

While total recoveries now stands at 48,917, the death toll has reached 338.

Read: UAE reports Covid-19 recovery rate of 85.8%