The UAE on Tuesday announced the reopening of women's prayer halls in mosques and prayer rooms on external roads across the country.

Addressing a weekly media briefing of the UAE government, Dr. Saif Al Dhaheri, the official spokesman of the National Crisis and Emergency Management Authority (NCEMA), said that the decision was taken by the authority in coordination with the General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Endowments.

According to the updated protocols, prayer areas on external roads, places of ablution and women’s prayer areas will be reopened in line with safety measures. Dr. Al Dhaheri further called on mosques and prayer areas to print guideline flyers explaining the COVID-19 precautionary measures in Arabic, English and Urdu.

While ablution areas have been opened, the updated protocol also calls for keeping a closed ablution tub in place between two open tubs along with the provision of toilet paper. Direct contact between ablution areas and mosques must be prevented, he added.

Furthermore, it is mandatory to keep the toilets and ablution areas clean and sanitised before every prayer. Worshippers must maintain a 1.5-metre physical distance between each other at all times.

Dr. Al Dhaheri also noted that mosques must be closed after prayers and people will not be allowed to stay inside after hours. At the same time, all worshippers must comply with previously announced precautionary measures to maintain the health and wellbeing of everyone against COVID-19.

With regards to the use of toilets and restrooms, administrations of mosques across the UAE must maintain a cleaning staff at all times along with sanitisers placed at the exits of ablution areas. People must be encouraged to sanitise their hands after ablution.

He urged the mosques to provide necessary information about the correct methods of ablution, adding that cleaning staff must clean and sanitise areas of ablution and toilets after every process.

As per the protocols, relevant authorities are required to monitor any violations by worshippers as well as coordinate with staff to ensure cleaning and sanitisation of ablution areas and toilets take place before and after every prayer.

Later, he stressed the need for coordination between relevant authorities and local municipalities to implement actions plans and important tools for maintaining cleanliness and sanitisation. He called on Imams and cleaning staff of mosques to receive the vaccination and undergo PCR testing every 14 days. Moreover, they must be registered on the Al Hosn application, disclose any COVID-19 symptoms, and avoid meeting people in mosques in case of symptoms.

Dr. Al Dhaheri further affirmed that the UAE is moving towards full recovery after a successful battle against COVID-19 with the help of significant efforts of all public and private authorities.

"The approach of the UAE Government aims to ensure decent lives and a safe future for all citizens and residents in the UAE, and we trust the vision of our leadership," he said.

The UAE health sector is continuing its efforts to achieve herd immunity with the provision of vaccines to all eligible members of the community. As per official data, 98.66 percent of the population have received the first dose of the vaccine so far while 88.57 percent are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The NCEMA official pointed out that the UAE’s health sector is working in collaboration and coordination with relevant authorities to monitor the pandemic development in countries witnessing newly discovered variants.

In conclusion, he underlined the prominent role of the community in ensuring that the success against COVID-19 is maintained and the UAE sees return to a new normalcy. He also hailed the efforts of the Emirati community and its commitment to complying with precautionary measures issued by the authorities.

"Everyone is responsible for protecting and maintaining the country’s achievements over the past two years. We urge the public to adhere to relevant precautionary measures amidst a gradual openness and official events and celebrations," Dr Al Dhaheri added.