UAE reopened Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque (SZGM) in Abu Dhabi and Fujairah on Sunday for the first time since the onslaught of coronavirus pandemic, which caused nationwide lockdown in March. The announcement was made on Saturday by Emirates’ Ministry of Presidential Affairs, in coordination with the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority, NCEMA, Besides, the authorities also announced the reopening of Founder's Memorial in the UAE capital.

The authorities assured that all the precautionary measures would be taken for the safety of visitor including ‘the installation of thermal cameras to take body temperatures at all entrances; establishing an isolation room for those identified with high body temperatures, pending the arrival of healthcare teams; ensuring social distancing; and avoiding crowds from gathering.’

The Wam statement said, “Visitor signage will be in place communicating the significance of wearing face masks and pursuing other relevant countermeasures taken by the State to cap visitor numbers and ensure social distancing.”

“An online booking system for visitors has been launched, through which they can set the date and time of visit. The system can be accessed by visiting the respective websites of the aforementioned cultural and religious destinations,” it added.

These cultural places are a highly popular among tourists flowing in from all across the world. Last year, over 6.6 million people visited mosque.

The government decided to be cautious while dangers of infection has been reduced significantly. Hence, it decided to continue the discontinuation of public cultural tours, and lending of electronic devices, clothing and other devices has been discontinued. The authorities said that they would be using new age technology including social media platforms, along with LED screens to display videos explaining the regulations. It added that remote cultural tours in Arabic and English would be live-streamed on Instagram.

WAM