After UAE imposed bans on shisha use as a preventive measure during the coronavirus outbreak, the Dubai Municipality announced that shisha areas can renew its operation following strict precautionary measures to a circular dated July 18.
According to the new regulations, there has to put a disinfection schedule in place to ensure the sanitization of the area and smoking equipment. All reusable parts of shisha such as tongs will have to be disinfected after every client and only a disposable hose can be used.
In addition, water must be changed after each client, as well as now staff are not allowed to test the shisha before serving it to the customer. The time of shisha service for visitors is limited to three hours. It is allowed no more than 5 people in group and social distancing rules still put in place.
It is required to ventilate well premises and air suction devices must be disinfected strictly after every client. To control contact tracing, there should be maintained records of the staff members and customers, regardless if they smoked or not.
For staff and guests, it is mandatory to undergo temperature screening prior to entry, while every establishment must have a dedicated isolation room for suspected COVID-19 cases as well as the disinfection procedures as per DHA guidelines.
By the way, you can check the list of Shisha venues in Dubai here.
Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2, also known as COVID-19) is a new strain of coronavirus which is causing illness in humans and animals. Most people infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus will feel mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without any special treatment. Older people, as well as those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, cancer or diabetes, are more likely to develop serious illness, and require immediate assistance. Novel Coronavirus was first identified in a cluster with pneumonia symptoms in Wuhan city, Hubei province of China, quickly spreading around the world. On early March 2020, the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic had officially started, becoming the defining global health crisis of our time. Today, it is the greatest challenge people have faced since World War II, worsened by subsequent lockdowns of whole countries, collapse of entire industries, and a major economic recession.