UAE: Malls train staff to admit only green pass holders in Abu Dhabi

Shopping malls and large supermarkets in Abu Dhabi have trained their staff on the new green pass requirement and will deploy more security guards at the entrance points to ensure that only green pass holders gain entry.

Authorities in Abu Dhabi announced last week that residents must have a green pass on their Alhosn app to gain entry to most public places. The rule will come into effect from Tuesday, June 15, and apply to those aged 16 and above.

The public places include shopping malls and large supermarkets, gyms, hotels, public parks and beaches, private beaches and swimming pools, entertainment centres, cinemas, museums, and restaurants and cafes.

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The mall managements said they will display information about the new green pass requirement at the entrances and have trained the security teams for quick and effective verification of the green pass to avoid delays.

Aravind Ravi, General Manager of Mushrif Mall and The Market said: “We have trained our security guards on how to handle the shoppers as they check the Alhosn app to ensure that only green pass holders enter the mall.

“It should take only five to 10 seconds for a security guard to verify the Alhosn app for each visitor to avoid long queues and commotion at the entrance. We will ensure adherence to social distancing measures as we are keen on people’s safety.”

Ravi added that starting from Monday, June 14, the management shall roll out an awareness campaign through their social media platforms and posters inside parking lots to inform their customers about the new procedures so they can only visit the mall when they have a green pass on the Alhosn app.

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Melvin Mathew, from Marina Mall’s marketing and communication department, said the mall’s security operations department has chalked out measures, including increasing on the number of staff at the entry points to ensure effective implementation of the new norms while making it convenient to shoppers.

“All mall entrances will carry information about the new procedures and the security guards at the entrances will have to ensure that everyone has a green pass on their Alhosn app to gain entry,” said Mathew.

V. Nandakumar, Lulu Group’s director – marketing and communications, said: “We have trained our security team for quick and effective verification of the green pass so as to avoid unnecessary delays or inconvenience to shoppers.

“We are also planning to tie-up with certain healthcare providers to facilitate free PCR tests in our mall premises for our shoppers”.

He added: “The Lulu Group has been very actively adhering to all Covid-19 measures and we shall continue doing so for the safety of everyone. Starting June 15, all our malls and hypermarkets in Abu Dhabi will implement “Entry for Green Pass Only” initiative and shoppers will have to show their Alhosn app for verification at the entry points.”

Mayank Pal, the General Manager of Khalidiyah Mall, said the mall will have all measures for the implementation of the green pass requirement in place by morning on June 15.

“Queue managers and security teams will be at all entrances to verify the Alhosn app to avoid delays and to ensure safety of the shoppers,” he said.

Bhupinder Singh, general manager and CFO of Dalma Mall, said the mall's new protocol team has provided training to the security guards about the green pass requirements and are ready to handle shoppers when the new norms come into effect on Tuesday.

“We shall deploy more security guards at the mall’s entry points to verify the visitors’ Alhosn apps before allowed to enter the mall,” he said.

“Additional security points will be placed in the parking lots to ensure that some of the shoppers‘ Alhosn apps are verified before reaching the main entrances to avoid delays and for the convenience of our customers.”

According to Singh, the mall management is also planning to talk to government authorities to see if they can be allowed to install electronic systems at the entry points to help in verifying the green pass on the shoppers’ Alhosn apps for quick and effective implementation of the new procedures.

The green pass is one of three colour codes that will be reflected on your Alhosn app based on your Covid-19 vaccination status and PCR test result. The other two colours are grey (PCR validity has ended); and red (PCR test result is positive).

ismail@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi