Under the leadership of Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management in Dubai has announced the resumption of wedding receptions to take place in hotels, party halls, homes, tents in residential areas, and other venues with effect from October 22, 2020.

With this announcement, the community will be able to celebrate their special occasions while maintaining the necessary precautionary measures in order to ensure high levels of safety for the public. This decision has been taken by the authorities in line with the recommendations made by the frontline institutions to the Committee about the organisation of social events.

People have been asked to adhere to the COVID-19 precautionary guidelines while organising any social event to ensure the health and safety of the guests. These guidelines, issued as part of the comprehensive implementation of health and safety measures, are aimed at protecting the public from the risk of exposure to the COVID-19 virus.

Here are the necessary precautionary measures people have to follow while holding wedding receptions and social events:

·        Maximum of 200 people can be there in a reception organised in a hall, while there can be a maximum of 30 people in an event taking place in tents or homes. This condition will depend on the rule of one person per four square metres of venue space to ensure that social distancing is maintained between the guests.

·        Attendees will have to wear face masks at all times. They can remove the mask while seating at their tables.

·        A maximum of five guests is allowed to sit at one table while maintaining a distance of more than 1.5 metres between each other

·        They should avoid being seated face-to-face

·        Each table should be placed at least two metres apart from each other

·        Duration of the social event should not be longer than four hours

·        Elderly people, those with chronic illness, and anyone experiencing symptoms of coughing or fever must not attend the functions.

In addition to these measures, hotels, party halls and service providers have also been issued a set of necessary precautionary guidelines which must be strictly implemented at al forms of events to ensure public health and safety.

The Supreme Committee issued a warning that violators will be held accountable for any negligence in complying with the mandatory precautionary guidelines. It has affirmed that these guidelines must be stringently enforced while organising wedding receptions across the emirate.

As the UAE and Dubai have continued to make comprehensive efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, the Supreme Committee called upon the members of the community to strictly comply with precautionary measures and avoid attending large social gatherings which are not following the necessary safety guidelines.

It highlighted that these decisions have been taken with the aim of protecting the health and safety of the public amid the prevailing threat of COVID-19, asserting that people's safety is the highest priority for the Government of Dubai and frontline entities. The Committee further noted that the Emirati authorities are leaving no stones unturned to protect the safety and wellbeing of citizens, residents and tourists. At the same time, it added that the commitment of the community in adhering to the preventive guidelines is critical to combating the pandemic crisis.

WAM