Dubai will simplify the rules for shopping malls

Visitors to malls in Dubai can now use public benches and chairs located in the lobbies to relax.

Officials introduced the ban on public seating in April 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic was gaining momentum. All benches and chairs in shopping malls were either encircled with protective tape or dismantled altogether. Now the municipality of Dubai is beginning to loosen the previously imposed restrictions gradually. 

The municipality opened the public seating for the elderly and pregnant women and for everyone tired of visiting the vast shopping halls. However, it is stipulated explicitly that all holidaymakers must observe social distance and must wear masks.

It is not the first simplification of the restrictions imposed on Dubai shopping malls. Starting from January 1, 2021, the malls’ visitors do a temperature check at the entrance. Parking personnel has since stopped using polythene to cover the steering wheel and the driver’s seat.

To date, the total number of people sickened in the UAE is 224,704, of whom 201,396 have fully recovered, and 687 have died of complications from the coronavirus infection. The country reached 2.2 million COVID-19 tests during the pandemic.