The Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department in Dubai cancelled all permits for Ramadan tents in the emirate this year.
The department said the move aimed to prevent large gatherings and any possible breach of social distancing rules.
During the holy month, it is normal for mosques to host social gatherings for workers and provide them with free meals during iftar.
But the new measures have been put in place to protect public health and safety.
Ahmed Darwish Al Muhairi, executive director of the department's charitable sector, said people and organisations that liked to volunteer for distribution during Ramadan could only do so only in collaboration with charities and institutions approved and licensed by the department.
Mr Al Muhairi said the department would take "all necessary precautions" to ensure the holy month passed safely.
Muhammad Musabeh Dahi, director of the charitable institutions department at the IACAD, said the authority would continue to reach out to the needy through its digital Meals of Hope initiative during Ramadan.
The initiative, which beganin 2019, uses Zomato to provide meals to underprivileged people, enabling them to directly request food from a group of restaurants.
Ramadan in the pandemic
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A Bosnian Muslims woman with face mask, prays in front of the Mosque, during Muslims' holy month of Ramadan, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. EPA -
Pakistani cobblers make traditional Peshawari Chappal shoes ahead of the Eid al-Fitr in Peshawar, Pakistan. EPA -
People rush to shop for the Eid holiday that marks the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan after the government relaxed a weeks-long lockdown that was enforced to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, in Quetta, Pakistan. AP Photo -
A couple wearing face masks shops at a mall as people prepare for the upcoming Eid al-Fitr celebrations, the religious festival that marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan amid the ongoing coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. EPA -
Workers arranges cookies on trays for delivery at a bakery ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr in Srinagar. AFP -
A worker arranges cookies on a tray for delivery at a bakery ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr in Srinagar. AFP -
A volunteer of the "Nass el-Khir" association, wearing mask due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, prepares food for meals to be distributed among those in need during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Algeria's capital Algiers. AFP -
Volunteers of the "Nass el-Khir" association package meal boxes before being distributed among those in need during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Algeria's capital Algiers. AFP -
Hairdressers wearing protective suits work at a barber shop ahead of Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, amid the ongoing coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic in Sanaa, Yemen. EPA -
Saudis exercise with an online video with the aim of collecting donations to support needy families during the holy month of Ramadan, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. REUTERS -
A Pakistani tries traditional coat ahead of Eid al-Fitr in Peshawar, Pakistan. EPA -
Porters waits to receive free ration distributed by Saylani trust as trains operations are shut amid lockdown due to the ongoing coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Karachi, Pakistan. EPA
