With the holy month of Ramadan weeks away, UAE authorities have issued several COVID-19 pandemic-related precautionary measures to ensure the safety of all members of the community. The measures have been introduced with the aim of avoiding large gatherings in order to limit the spread of the virus.

Dr. Saif Al Dhaheri, the spokesperson for the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA), announced the guidelines.

Taraweeh prayers: The special prayers offered during the holy month of Ramadan will be hosted in various mosques across the UAE. The authorities have capped the maximum duration of the Taraweeh and the preceding Isha prayer at 30 minutes.

The UAE authorities have called on the community to avoid large gatherings of family and friends, especially during Iftar.

People have been asked to avoid distributing and exchanging meals between homes and families to minimize the spread of the virus.

As per the guidelines, only members of the same family living in the same house can share meals during Iftar.

All Iftar tents, whether family or institutional, have been banned and Iftar meals will also not be allowed inside mosques.

Restaurants have been prohibited from distributing Iftar meals inside or in front of their premises.

The authorities have limited the distribution of the Iftar meals to labor housing complexes through direct coordination with the management. While distributing meals, people have to follow strict social distancing measures.

Authorities have also noted that these precautionary measures are subject to change on the basis of global and local health situations amid COVID-19.

At the same time, the elderly and people with chronic diseases have been urged to avoid large gatherings of any kind to ensure their safety during the ongoing circumstances.

In the guidelines, authorities have urged the public to comply with the COVID-19 measures, adding that intensive inspection campaigns will be carried out throughout the holy month. In this regard, UAE authorities have maintained that legal action will be taken against all violators found during inspection campaigns.