Precautionary measures for shopping malls in Oman

The Supreme Committee on COVID-19 has issued precautionary measures for malls and commercial centres in Oman on Tuesday.

The measures include age restriction which does not allow individuals aged above 60 years or below 12 years to enter the malls or commercial shops.

Check the full list of preventive measures below:

1. People aged 60 years and above and children under 12 years are not permitted to enter.
2. Car parks in the mall should be reduced to 50% in all levels, taking into consideration physical distancing.
3. Retailers, third-party contract employees, and logistical business employees such as delivery or unloading must inform the center’s administration about any information regarding infected cases or cases that were in contact with infected ones and are subject to health isolation procedures. They shall also notify the center’s administration if their employees show any symptoms of Covid-19, so that it can take the appropriate measures.
4. Soap and tissue paper shall be made available in all restrooms.
5. A sufficient number of special waste containers shall be made available at entrances, exits and parking lots of the commercial center.
6. Good ventilation shall be maintained inside the mall. It shall be, also, ensured that the air conditioning system works well with ade-quate needs of fresh air and air purifier and pipes are cleaned regularly.
7. All tenants must clean and sterilize the stores before starting the trade, so that the mall can ensure that it is perfectly safe to operate under the current conditions.
8. The mall will send a circular with the contact details of a company at competitive prices in case the retailers want to avail their services at their own expense, and they shall submit sterilization reports to the mall’s management periodically.
9. Retailers shall provide hand sanitizers at the entrance of their shops or at the cashier. For large stores, they shall be provided in more than one location.
10. Retailers shall provide an updated list of all employees working in their stores.
11. All mall seats shall be removed from public sitting areas.
12. Prayer halls will remain closed until further notice by the Supreme Committee.
13. Hand dryers in all restrooms shall be closed and not to be used.
14. The mall management will carry out routine inspections inside the retail stores to ensure that effective and frequent sterilization processes are being implemented by all outlets.
15. Retailers shall not move an employee from one branch to another, and the mall shall follow up on that.
16. Control points shall be placed inside the mall to monitor the customer’s wearing of face masks. Customers shall not be allowed to gather in the same place and in case of overcrowding, customers shall not be allowed to enter.
17. Customers shall wear face masks when entering the mall.
18. A general guidance board should be placed on all entrances of the mall (and it shall be mentioned that customers shall not stay in the mall for more than two hours).
19. All visitors to the mall, retail store employees and third-party con-tract employees are subjected to temperature checks through thermal cameras placed at all entrances.
20. Meetings with vendors or contractors are preferred to be conducted remotely via Internet applications.
21. Face-to-face meetings should be avoided as much as possible. In case it was necessary, it shall be done in the administration reception area, taking into consideration physical distancing.
22. It is important to continuously clean the surfaces that are general-ly touched, especially phone screens and laptops.
23. These devices should be sterilized using 70% isopropyl alcohol wipes or antiseptic wipes.
24. The commercial center reserves the right to take the necessary measures to close the shop or inform the competent municipality of any retailer who does not adhere to the precautionary measures specified.