Restaurants, coffee shops and cafes outside shopping malls in Abu Dhabi have been issued new safety guidelines to allow more dine-in guests.
Authorities have established rules businesses must follow to operate safely, including limiting establishments' capacity to 40 per cent, up from 30 per cent.
People above the age of 60, children under 12 and those with chronic diseases should be prevented from entering.
All staff must be tested for Covid-19, and if any employees show symptoms they must immediately be taken to the nearest screening centre.
If a food handler contracts the virus, the establishment should be closed, according to the rules set by the Department of Economic Development.
No more than four people are allowed at each table, up from two, and waiting areas should remain closed.
Tables must be kept 2.5 metres apart.
Temperature checks should be carried out at the entrance for all staff and customers, and if anyone is found to have a fever, they should be denied entry.
Hand sanitiser should be available at the entrance to encourage patrons to disinfect on entry.
All buffets, open food displays, food samples, shared canapes and shisha are barred.
Metal cutlery can only be used if the cafe has a dishwasher capable of cleaning at high temperatures.
Otherwise, only single-use cutlery should be used. Before the new rules, restaurants could only use disposable plastic cutlery.
Restaurants and cafes outside shopping centres across Abu Dhabi began receiving dine-in guests in early May, after closing to in-house diners in mid-March to stem the spread of the virus.
On Wednesday, food outlet managers said the gradual easing of restrictions would help their businesses to from the period when they were ordered to close or only allow deliveries.
Khalifa Al Dhaheri, co-founder of Cupital Cafe, said his business previously received about 50 customers a day between 8am and 10pm.
Mr Al Dhaheri said people would stay for many hours to work or study.
The cafe reopened for dine-in guests on Sunday but he said capacity had yet to reach 40 per cent.
“I think many people are still reluctant," Mr Al Dhaheri said.
“Previously, when people walked into coffee shops they felt relaxed and chose where to sit.
"Now, from the minute they enter, they have to get their temperature tested and their hands sanitised.
“They also need to look for available space that is far from other occupied tables.
"We already had plenty of space but some may want to stay extra far from others to feel secure.”
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When: October 17 until November 10
Cost: Entry is free but some events require prior registration
Where: Various locations including National Theatre (Abu Dhabi), Abu Dhabi Cultural Center, Zayed University Promenade, Beach Rotana (Abu Dhabi), Vox Cinemas at Yas Mall, Sharjah Youth Center
What: The Korea Festival will feature art exhibitions, a B-boy dance show, a mini K-pop concert, traditional dance and music performances, food tastings, a beauty seminar, and more.
For more information: www.koreafestivaluae.com
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Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
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A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
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Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community
• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style
“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.
Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term.
From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”
• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International
"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed. Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."
• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."
• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com
"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.
His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.
Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."
• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher
"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen. He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”
• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."
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