The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce & Industry, SCCI, commended the firm commitment of the shopping centers and malls to implementing the precautionary and preventive measures after reopening.

This was stated during the field follow-up carried out by the SCCI after the Sharjah Economic Development Department (SEDD) announced the reopening of shopping malls. The move comes as part of the SCCI’s keenness to enhance its role as a representative of the business community and private sector in Sharjah following up their business and overcoming all challenges facing them, especially in light of the global changes and developments related to the repercussions of the new coronavirus (COVID-19).

The SCCI hailed the shopping centers’ adherence to implementing the social distancing instructions, obliging shoppers to wear face mask and gloves at all times, in addition to organizing awareness campaigns for their staff on methods of prevention of COVID-19 and providing consumer goods.

Fruitful movement

His Excellency Mohammad Ahmed Amin Al-Awadi, Director-General, SCCI, said that the Chamber always seeks to reinforce its role as a representative of Sharjah’s business community by finding the appropriate communication channels between the private sector and government departments and creating a fruitful movement conducive to a lot of incentives and initiatives for the benefit of the public interest and the business community in the Emirate of Sharjah.

“After the reopening of shopping centers and malls, the SCCI has been keen to check on the work progress based on an integrated plan which took into account COVID-19 repercussions. This includes the constant communication with the representatives of the centers and the retail trade sector from the SCCI members and affiliates to learn more about the hurdles and challenges they face in the business environment to raise it to the concerned government department. The SCCI also assured them the effectiveness of the preventive and precautionary measures adopted to protect the security and safety of citizens, residents, and visitors, and to maintain the continuity of their business,”

The SCCI’s Director-General lauded the commitment of the shopping centers to the protocols pertaining to the re-practice of economic activities to ensure the safety and health of society and their support to the government efforts to counter COVID-19, underlining that the commitment of those centers to implementing the preventive measures would help ensure business sustainability and get life back to normal.

Continuous Follow-up

For his part, Hamad Al Lawati, Head of the Representative Committee of the Shopping Centers Sector Working Group, said: “Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, the committee has been continuously following-up the situation in shopping malls based on the directives of Sharjah Chamber to identify what they may also need to overcome the current challenges”.

To that end, the committee has been conducting field visits and communicating with all commercial centers to ensure implementation of precautionary measures and adherence to the guidelines that would guarantee the health and safety of customers, Al Lawati added.

Continuous follow-up

In turn, a number of the big shopping centers in Sharjah commended the SCCI’s efforts in the current circumstances and its keenness to constantly follow up with the private sector and to employ its partnerships with various government agencies to serve the business community to maintain its continuity and competitiveness,  despite the repercussions of COVID-19 on the global economy. They Stressed their keenness to fully comply with the implementation of preventive measures and maintain the safety of customers and employees.

In this context, Mohammed Sorour, Marketing Manager of Mega Mall Sharjah, said: “As one of the biggest malls in Sharjah, we have placed the safety of our employees, visitors, and the general community as a top priority and we continue to work hard to encourage them to adhere to the means of prevention set by the relevant government agencies. After the reopening decision, we have implemented a number of preventive measures, including the social distancing instructions between shoppers and the awareness posters that guide customers to the best practices in maintaining a safe distance along with permanent sterilization throughout the center.”

He expressed appreciation for the efforts made by the SCCI as a representative of the private sector before all government agencies, in addition to the continuous follow-up on all the challenges faced by the business community and the development of the necessary solutions.

Maintain a 30% occupancy level

Mohamed Ashik, General Manager of the Lulu Hypermarket - Treasury Branch said: “We have taken into account the implementation of all precautionary and preventive measures to maintain the health of shoppers and all members of society, in addition to our commitment to maintaining the occupancy level of 30% of the shared areas. We also put posters at the entrances to remind visitors of the required precautionary measures as well as to specify the number of allowed customers depending on the area of each shop as per the social distancing instructions. Also, we asked the shoppers to measure body temperature before entering the center and the need to wear face masks and gloves, as well as the commitment of our workers to carrying out the same measures.”

UV sterilizer

Pierre Samaan, Marketing Director, Sahara Center, stressed that the health welfare of visitors is a top priority by developing initiatives and products that ensure the highest levels of hygiene and safety, as well as relying on the best global practices in this field. Lately, we have installed UV sterilizers for the escalator handrails to get rid of germs on these handrails, this process is known as Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI). We are also committed to implementing all the preventive measures, including the 24-hour sterilization and awareness campaigns for employees about protection from COVID-19. Moreover, we have installed heat detectors and sterilizers at the entrances and at the customer service points.”