Coronavirus: Abu Dhabi malls can reopen if they meet health and safety requirements


Gillian Duncan
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Malls are set to reopen across the country after restrictions designed to contain the spread of the coronavirus were eased.

Dubai Mall and shops along Jumeirah Beach Residence opened on Tuesday after being closed for a month. Mall of the Emirates and Dubai Festival City partially opened at the weekend.

Abu Dhabi’s malls were set to open in the coming days after the authorities gave the go-ahead with some restrictions. Retail regulator Department of Economic Development (Added) said shopping centres must arrange Covid-19 tests for all in-store employees before they can resume operations.

Permits would only be granted to those which had certificates to show their staff tested negative for the virus.

On Tuesday, Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (Seha) said it tested 20,000 mall and shop employees across the emirate.

The staff were tested at seven of Seha's 14 drive-through Covid-10 screening centres at the weekend, to ensure they are healthy before returning to work. In addition to being tested, employees were educated on the importance of social distancing, regular sanitisation, the appropriate use of masks and gloves and temperature checks for themselves and their customers.

You might not see us smiling behind our masks but we will be pleased to see you

Malls are among hundreds of businesses that are required to test their staff for Covid-19.

Added issued instructions on Monday to all commercial and industrial companies asking their employees to report for screening. The decision does not affect office-based businesses.

Dubai Holding, which runs Dubai's JBR district, reminded visitors they must wear face masks at all times, and that children aged between 3 and 12 and seniors over aged 60 are not allowed access.

Temperature checks will be carried out on all shoppers and, as with shopping malls, access is restricted to three hours.

"We look forward to welcoming you back. You might not see us smiling behind our masks but we will be pleased to see you," Dubai Holding said on Twitter. (edited)

Mall operators in Abu Dhabi said they were busy deep cleaning their malls in preparation to restart.

Lulu Group, which operates a number of malls in the capital including Khalidiyah Mall, Mushrif Mall and Al Wahda Mall, released images showing its shopping centres being sterilised by a team of workers.

Wajeb Khoury, a director, said every "nook and corner" of the group's malls were being deep cleaned to ensure the safety of shoppers and staff.

Dubai Mall, which was initially due to reopen on Friday, the first day of Ramadan, delayed its restart until Tuesday.

"The health and safety of our customers, employees and tenants remains our top priority," the mall announced, saying it is "undertaking extensive preparations in order to be able to safely re-open".

Ibn Battuta Mall, Nakheel Mall and Dragon Mart reopened on Monday, with The Pointe scheduled to follow suit on Wednesday.

In Dubai, mall operators were asked to adhere to a series of guidelines to protect staff and the public.

People over the age of 60, and children between three and 12 cannot visit malls, and shoppers must wear masks and have their temperatures checked when entering.

Government guidelines mean malls may only allow 30 per cent of the usual capacity of shoppers to enter at any given time.

In Abu Dhabi, operators must create separate entrances and exits, the installation of hand sanitising stations and thermal scanners to check people’s body temperature, plus the use of gloves and masks for all staff.

Car parking should be limited to 50 per cent of capacity, and there should not be more than one customer per five sq m of store.

Signage promoting hygiene and social distancing should be placed throughout the malls.

Food and beverage outlets should operate at 30 per cent of capacity only and use disposable cutlery only. They should serve a maximum group of four and tables should be spaced 2.5m apart.

The mall should also operate a daily disinfection programme.

The Department of Health said it would conduct workshops to show staff how to wear masks properly and highlight the guidelines they must follow.

Elsewhere in the UAE, Fujairah Municipality announced the reopening of the Friday market.

Ajman Municipality said its cafes and restaurants and cafes would reopen at 30 per cent capaity until 9pm, but shishas and buffets would still be closed. Barbershops and salons reopened on Monday.

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Director: Milan Jhaveri
Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series
Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
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Personalities on the Plate: The Lives and Minds of Animals We Eat

Barbara J King, University of Chicago Press 

 

 

10 tips for entry-level job seekers
  • Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
  • Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
  • Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
  • For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
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  • Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
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  • Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
  • Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
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Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz

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Wednesday's results

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Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

Our legal advisor

Rasmi Ragy is a senior counsel at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.

Experience: Prosecutor in Egypt with more than 40 years experience across the GCC.

Education: Ain Shams University, Egypt, in 1978.

Company profile

Date started: 2015

Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki

Based: Dubai

Sector: Online grocery delivery

Staff: 200

Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends

Washmen Profile

Date Started: May 2015

Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Laundry

Employees: 170

Funding: about $8m

Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Fifa Club World Cup:

When: December 6-16
Where: Games to take place at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi and Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain
Defending champions: Real Madrid

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France: T: Vahaamahina, Ollivon, Vakatawa Cons: Ntamack (2)

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures

October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA

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Sudden change in behaviour or displays higher levels of stress or anxiety

Shows signs of depression or isolation

Ability to sleep well diminishes

Academic performance begins to deteriorate

Changes in eating habits

Struggles to concentrate

Refuses to go to school

Behaviour changes and is aggressive towards siblings

Begins to use language they do not normally use

About Seez

Company name/date started: Seez, set up in September 2015 and the app was released in August 2017  

Founder/CEO name(s): Tarek Kabrit, co-founder and chief executive, and Andrew Kabrit, co-founder and chief operating officer

Based in: Dubai, with operations also in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon 

Sector:  Search engine for car buying, selling and leasing

Size: (employees/revenue): 11; undisclosed

Stage of funding: $1.8 million in seed funding; followed by another $1.5m bridge round - in the process of closing Series A 

Investors: Wamda Capital, B&Y and Phoenician Funds 

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Tesalam Aleik

Abdullah Al Ruwaished

(Rotana)

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Transmission: 10-speed auto

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The currency conundrum

Russ Mould, investment director at online trading platform AJ Bell, says almost every major currency has challenges right now. “The US has a huge budget deficit, the euro faces political friction and poor growth, sterling is bogged down by Brexit, China’s renminbi is hit by debt fears while slowing Chinese growth is hurting commodity exporters like Australia and Canada.”

Most countries now actively want a weak currency to make their exports more competitive. “China seems happy to let the renminbi drift lower, the Swiss are still running quantitative easing at full tilt and central bankers everywhere are actively talking down their currencies or offering only limited support," says Mr Mould.

This is a race to the bottom, and everybody wants to be a winner.

Tonight's Chat on The National

Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.

Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.

Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.

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Rating: 4/5

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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

The team

Videographer: Jear Velasquez 

Photography: Romeo Perez 

Fashion director: Sarah Maisey 

Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory 

Models: Meti and Clinton at MMG 

Video assistant: Zanong Maget 

Social media: Fatima Al Mahmoud  

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Name: Peter Dicce

Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics

Favourite sport: soccer

Favourite team: Bayern Munich

Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer

Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates 

 

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Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now

Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.

The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.

1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):

a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33

b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.

2. For those who have worked more than five years

c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.

Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.