Ramadan 2022: UAE relaxes Covid rules for worshippers

People will be able to enjoy the most 'normal' holy month in three years

Masks are still mandatory in mosques. Chris Whiteoak / The National

The UAE has relaxed a series of Covid-19 rules for worshippers ahead of Ramadan.

Prayer times have returned to normal, daily mosque lessons and lectures can resume, and drinking water can be distributed to worshippers once it is bottled, the National Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (Ncema) said on Wednesday.

The taraweeh prayers — night prayers performed during Ramadan — can now be held in mosques again and during the last 10 nights of Ramadan, tahajjud prayers will also be held from midnight onwards at mosques.

Copies of the Quran can now be provided in mosques again once they are sterilised and women's prayer halls have returned to normal.

Restrictions such as physical distancing were introduced following the outbreak of the pandemic early in 2020. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Ncema also said worshippers can pray in a straight line again rather than the ziz-zag format introduced during the pandemic, meaning more can attend the mosque.

Certain rules remain, however, such as mandatory wearing of masks indoors and physical distancing of one metre.

No more than 45 minutes is allocated for the tahajjud prayer during the last 10 days of Ramadan, Ncema said.

The authority said it would continually monitor the situation and reserved the right to make changes. This will be the first time since 2020 — when the pandemic swept through the world — that worshippers can enjoy a regular Ramadan with iftar tents also allowed.

During the pandemic, the gap between the call to prayer and the prayer was about 5 to 10 minutes to prevent gatherings. The return to regular times means a degree of normality has resumed.

It also comes as the UAE cautiously emerges from the pandemic with Covid-19 cases declining.

The UAE reported 288 new cases on Wednesday, while the number of active cases in the country has dropped to 21,813.

No deaths have been reported since March 7 and the overall toll is 2,302.

The UAE has carried out more than 147 million tests since the pandemic began.

Mass Covid-19 screening and an extensive vaccination campaign have helped the UAE to bring down infection rates and limit the spread of the virus.

Nearly 24.5 million vaccine doses have been administered and 97.1 per cent of the eligible population is fully vaccinated.

Preparations for Ramadan - in pictures

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  Egyptian craftsmen produce Ramadan lanterns, called fanous, at a workshop in Cairo. EPA

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  An activist of the Al Khidmat Foundation Pakistan, a non-profit organisation, packs iftar food to be sent to Afghanistan, in Peshawar, in preparation for the start of Ramadan. AFP

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  Youths hold torches at a parade to welcome the holy month in Jakarta, Indonesia. EPA

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  Palestinian volunteers clean the Al-Aqsa compound, in front of the Dome of Rock Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City. AP

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  Palestinians shop for traditional 'fanous', a decoration used to celebrate the start of Ramadan, in Hebron in the occupied West Bank. AFP

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  A Quran reading at Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. EPA

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  A man cleans a mosque in the run-up to Ramadan in Peshawar, Pakistan. EPA

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  A vendor sells dates in Peshawar. EPA

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  A Palestinian man tries to attract custom for his fanous in Jerusalem. AFP

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  A Palestinian craftsman works on a section of an Islamic-style monument that consists of lantern and a crescent, two symbols of the Islamic holy month, in the West Bank city of Ramallah. AP

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  Palestinians shop at Al-Zawya old market in Gaza city in preparation for Ramadan. AFP

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  Shopping for decorations in Al-Zawya old market in Gaza city, in preparation for Ramadan. AFP

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  A woman buys a Ramadan decoration in Beirut. EPA

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  A shopkeeper sells prayer mats in Peshawar. EPA