Legal measures will be taken against all violators, whether individuals or institutions…

The National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA) has just announced a set of rules to be followed in the UAE during Ramadan.

They were announced on the evening of March 16, 2021 on the authority’s official Twitter account in a series of tweets.

Here are the rules that need to be followed during Ramadan in the interest of the health and safety of society:

The NCEMA advises the public to avoid evening gatherings during Ramadan, limit family visits and to avoid distributing and exchanging meals between homes and families. Large gatherings are to be avoided and only those who live in the same house can eat group meals.

The authority pointed out that it is not allowed to create family or institutional iftar tents in a public place to eat group meals. It is not allowed to provide or distribute iftar meals in front of homes and mosques and those who wish to do so must go through charitable organizations.

Additionally, the donation of alms and zakats must be made electronically. Donation tents are prohibited

The authority also has forbidden restaurants to distribute iftar meals for those fasting inside or in front of the restaurants. Distributions are limited to workers’ housing complexes through direct coordination between restaurants and the management of labour housing in each region, taking into account the rules of social distancing.

The NCEMA also tweeted that mosques will be closed immediately after prayer time. The women’s prayer areas, service and health facilities will remain close.

The NCEMA also stated that Tarawih prayers can be performed provided the precautionary controls against Covid-19 are followed. Tarawih prayer is a ritual prayer performed by Muslims at night after the Isha prayer during the holy month of Ramadan. They must be limited to no more than 30 minutes.

Mosques will continue to abide by all preventive measures and measures to perform the prayers and additionally no iftar meals will be allowed in the mosques.

The authority also stated that an update will be made with regards to the Qiyaam prayer in the last ten days of the holy month of Ramadan. An assessment will be made depending on the epidemiological situation in the country.

Religious lessons and seminars in mosques will remain suspended but the authority added a possibility of participating in lectures and lessons electronically. The authority advised the use of electronic devices when reading the Holy Quran.

The authority also stressed the need for the elderly and people with chronic diseases to avoid gatherings of any kind, in order to ensure their safety.

The authority called upon the public to cooperate and adhere to the procedures and instructions stating intensive inspection campaigns will be carried out during the holy month. Legal measures will be taken against all violators, whether individuals or institutions.

The NCEMA ended the series of tweets stating, ‘We affirm that all measures announced in the current national protocol are subject to modification based on the global and local health situation.’

Images: Unsplash