Dubai: In public places and events occurring in the United Arab Emirates, the government of the middle east country has started easing the COVID-19 health protocols and containment measures from today (February 15, 2022) onwards.
The previous week, the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Emergency Management Authority (NCEMA) noted that shopping malls, as well as transportation modes, can operate at the full seating capacity by the middle of February month, including all activities & events across economic and tourist facilities. NCEMA officials made the announcement on Wednesday last week.
In a statement, Dr Rashid Khalfan Al Nuaimi, Executive Director of the Media Regulatory Office in his statement, asserted, “Since the beginning of the pandemic, the UAE has handled the crisis very professionally. The decision to raise capacity in cinemas follows the success of the efforts of the UAE government agencies in combating the spread of COVID-19”.
Following the above statement, Dr Nuaimi added, “The stringent precautionary COVID-19 measures imposed by the agencies and the community’s adherence to those have reduced the spread of the mutant and confirmed the health and safety for all”.
On the other hand, the Media Regulatory Office of the Ministry of Culture and Youth on Sunday also announced that the cinemas can now operate at the maximum seating capacity from today onwards. The authority furthermore added that each cinema could operate and amend the COVID-19 guidelines and measures as per their convenience, that is, ease or tighten them.
As part of this, the social distance has also been reduced to one meter between worshippers at mosques, though wearing masks is still mandatory for every public place.
Meanwhile, the government officials noted that the health ministry is and will continue to monitor the situation of the COVID-19 in the country.
The middle east country recorded over 869,000 confirmed cases of the deadliest COVID-19 virus since the pandemic began. The death rate of the UAE rises to 2,287.