Coronavirus: UAE's religious sites take precautionary measures against Covid-19

From installing temperature scanners at the entrance of prayer halls to restricting mass gatherings, several places of worship in the UAE have taken precautionary measures against Covid-19.
Following the announcement that the courtyard and floors of the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia are being washed and sanitised four times daily, other religious sites in the country are taking similar steps.
A significant ritual at the Orthodox church - the Kiss of Peace, where devotees would take each other's hands - was temporarily stopped, according to Father Ninan Philip Panackamattom vicar at the St Thomas Orthodox Cathedral.
"This is a huge part of our prayers, and we got special permission from the Metropolitan to change the ritual and have people bow to each other, instead. This has been done to ensure proper hygiene during our prayer gatherings," explained Father Ninan.
Likewise, St Mary's Catholic Church in Dubai announced on Sunday that the Holy Communion would no longer be given on the tongue as is customary to minimise physical contact. Instead, churchgoers would have to take it by hand.
Avoiding gatherings
In one of its recent advisories on coronavirus, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has cautioned that "there is ample evidence that mass gatherings can amplify the spread of infectious diseases". "The transmission of respiratory infections, including influenza, has been frequently associated with mass gatherings," it added.
In fact, in South Korea - the biggest Covid-19 hotspot outside China - a significant percentage of confirmed cases are linked to a church congregation.
To ensure the safety of its devotees, St Thomas Orthodox Cathedral have also devised ways to reduce huge gatherings.
Every Friday, an average of 1,000 people attend mass at the cathedral. "To avoid such large gatherings, we will now organise three sermons instead of one. There will be two in the morning, and one in the evening. That will reduce the number of attendees per service," Father Ninan said.
Sunday school bible classes for the youth were also cancelled for an entire month.
"We've requested people who are suffering from flu and cough to avoid coming to the church. Hand sanitisers have been installed at the entrances as well," the vicar added.
Scanners at the Gurudwara
Surender Singh Kandhari, chairman of Gurunanak Darbar in Jebel Ali, confirmed to Khaleej Times that temperature scanners would be installed in the gurudwara entrances and parking lot today.
People found to have high temperatures will be requested not to visit the gurudwara for safety purposes.
"We've published safety guidelines from the Dubai Health Authority, Indian Embassy, and the Consulate-General of India as notices in English and Gurmukhi," said Kandhari.
An average of 2,000 people attend langar at the place of worship every day, and 15,000 people visit on weekends.
"People from all walks of life come to us. We have installed hand sanitisers, and then the cleaning services of the kitchen, floors, toilets, and carpets will now be done every two hours. We are an ISO-certified facility; it is something we commit to every day, regardless of whether there is an outbreak of not," said Kandhari.
At Hindu temple
Raju Shroff, a trustee of the Sindhi Guru Darbar Hindu temple, said all mass gatherings at the Sindhi ceremonial events centre would be restricted.
"We are discouraging people from organising large sit-down events, prayer meetings, and sermons. At the temple, we have installed hand sanitisers, and the temple staff constantly cleans major touchpoints," said Shroff.
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai

Dhanusha Gokulan

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com