The Dubai Safari Park will welcome visitors from October 5, announced Dubai Municipality on September 22. The park, which has 119 hectares of immaculately landscaped spaces that provide hospitable animal habitats, houses an expanded community of 3,000 mammals, birds, amphibians and invertebrates.

There will be a wide range of new interactive, educational and entertainment experiences for visitors of all ages. Comprehensive renovation and development has been done to expand park facilities and enrich visitor experience. Improvements have been done to enhance guests’ access to various sites.

Animal feeding, educational and awareness programmes and seasonal events have been added to enrich visitor experience. The activities will help increase visitor awareness and give opportunities for interaction with animals.

Serving both as an animal reserve and educational centre, the new Dubai Safari features a group of new animals, including African elephants and giraffes. Rare animals at the Park include the Komodo dragon, Spiral-horned antelope, Arabian Oryx, coloured African wild dog, gorilla, gibbon, bongo, and lemur. Visitors can transport themselves around the Park on state-of-the-art air-conditioned trains.

The Park comprises three main villages, the African Village, Asian Village and Explorer Village, and also includes an Arabian Desert Safari tour. A unique bus tour in the Explorer Village gives visitors a chance to discover animals from Africa and Asia.

The Park has adopted sustainable and eco-friendly technologies and practices. Originally built on a landfill site, Dubai Safari Park has transformed the land into a reusable space, using advanced technology. Energy harnessed from solar panels is used to power the park’s buildings and its electric vehicles.

With the goal of becoming a completely zero-waste facility, Dubai Safari Park has distributed recycling waste bins across the grounds for visitors to use. An onsite reverse osmosis plant filters and recycles water for animal water bodies; food and animal waste is turned into organic compost, which is used as fertiliser across the park.

Comprehensive COVID precautionary measures have been implemented in the Dubai Safari facility to ensure a safe environment for visitors. A thermal camera has been installed and manual thermometers will be used to screen visitors. The social distancing of two metres between people is strictly enforced and stickers are placed on the floors to guide visitors. Vending machines in the Park sell masks and gloves while hand sanitisers are provided to all freely.

Dubai Safari Park is open to the public daily from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm, and online reservation is required for entry.

The post Dubai Safari Park to open on October 5 appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

Dubai Municipality has announced that shisha and smoking areas in public places in Dubai will be reopened from July 18 until further notice, subject to their adherence to precautionary measures.
The municipality tweeted that regular inspections will be conducted to ensure compliance.
The shisha clubs had been closed in March by the Dubai Municipality and Dubai Economic Department to stop the spread of COVID-19.
The municipality circular lists 34 regulations and safety protocols for the reopening of shisha cafes. Some of them are:
– Staff should wear masks at all times;
– Cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces and common areas at least once every hour and shared objects each time they are used (handrails, slides, tubes, lockers, counters, toilets, etc.);
– If anyone of the staff was confirmed COVID-positive by an accredited test facility, they should not return to work unless they are granted a medical certificate endorsed by Dubai Health Authority (DHA);
– Shisha staff must adhere to strict hand washing routine before and after service;
– All staff and guests/ trainers/ visitors must undergo temperature screening before entering the cafe, anyone with temperature more than 37.5 will not be allowed to enter;
– The facility must dedicate an isolation room and set procedures to handle suspect/ confirmed cases as well as the disinfection procedures as per DHA/ DM guidelines
– Only disposable shisha hoses must be used;
– Clean and disinfect reusable shisha parts including tongs before and after each client;
– Wash and disinfect shisha properly and change its water after each client;
– Ensure 4.5 sq.m per person inside the smoking room;
– No social gatherings or parties allowed; and
– Groups of five are not allowed at the smoking area

The post Shisha, public smoking areas in Dubai open today appeared first on The Gulf Indians.