Under strict guidelines
As the UAE’s number of coronavirus cases continue to move in a positive direction, many businesses are preparing for a new kind of normal.
In Abu Dhabi, the Department of Culture and Tourism has unveiled a list of rules that hotels must follow in order to reintroduce their facilities.
Closed since March to prevent further spread of COVID-19, the new guidelines focus on reopening of restaurants, lounges, bars, beaches, pools and gyms.
.@dctabudhabi has issued regulations for opening restaurants in hotels, with preventative measures that include not exceeding 30% of the facility’s capacity, health examination of workers and continuous sterilisation. pic.twitter.com/9QwXIOwMBV
— مكتب أبوظبي الإعلامي (@admediaoffice) May 23, 2020
“The guidelines set out stringent criteria for the hotels to follow, which our inspectors will confirm with on-site visits,” Ali Hassan Al Shaiba, the Executive Director of Tourism and Marketing at DCT Abu Dhabi, explained.
“Once these high standards of health and safety are met, DCT Abu Dhabi will approve the reopening, and trading can resume. We are adamant that both hotel staff and visitors should be 100 per cent confident in their own safety, as we start the resumption of ‘normal’ activities since the pandemic situation arose.”
To further protect guests, all employees will undergo COVID-19 testing and have regular temperature checks after; surfaces will be kept clean; hand sanitisers will be placed at all entrances and approved thermal cameras must be installed.
In addition, guests will be required to wear masks and abide to clearly highlight social distancing rules. In restaurants, a maximum of four people will be permitted on one table and each table has to be spaced out by 2.5 meters.
You can only visit the facilities for a maximum of three hours, all venues have to run at 30 per cent capacity and operation hours are 6am to 7pm. Entertainment, such as live music, is prohibited.
