Abu Dhabi on Wednesday gave the green light for the re-opening of entertainment centres inside shopping malls in a relaxation of rules related to containing the spread of coronavirus.

The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) said it has permitted the owners and managers of recreational and entertainment play centres inside and outside commercial centres and malls "to re-establish their activities and open them to the public".

Rashed Abdul Karim Al Balooshi, Under-Secretary of ADDED, said that this announcement falls within the procedures and circulars recently issued for the return and resumption of economic activities in the emirate.

"The restoration of amusement and entertainment centres and electronic gaming venues represent an important step towards revitalising the community and the gathering areas of the members of the Abu Dhabi community and providing safe and entertaining means to enhance the public's confidence to return to recreational and tourism activities," he said in comments published by state news agency WAM.

ADDED specified in its circulars to the owners and managers of recreational and entertainment play centres that they must adhere to daily and periodic sterilisation procedures, to make hand sanitisers available in all public spaces and payment points, and to disinfect all children’s games and equipment.

In its circular, ADDED stressed the need for all workers in these halls to undergo a Covid-19 examination and not start working before making sure that they are all free from any infections.

It added that all staff must wash their hands periodically and take into account appropriate social distancing of at least two metres, as well as using signs set on the ground, measuring the temperatures of all workers during the day, and committing to wearing masks and gloves at all times.

Visitors must also be encouraged to pay using contactless cards and to deny entry to any visitor if they show any symptoms of Covid-19.

Areas and games that use plastic balls should not exceed 30 percent of the total game capacity, with deep sterilisation measures once every hour and at the beginning and end of the working day.

The announcement was made on the same day that the UAE recorded its highest ever daily figure for new coronavirus cases, as 1,083 infections were detected in the past 24 hours.

A tweet by the UAE's National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) said the Ministry of Health conducted 103,199 tests in the same period, while there was one further death due to complications and a further 970 recoveries.

The previous daily peak of 1,007 was reported earlier this month.