Prioritising the safety of participants and visitors alike, Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), organisers of the 12^th Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF), has been running a daily disinfection and sterilisation programme of the festival venue at Expo Centre Sharjah since the opening of the event on May 19.

Once the doors of the festivals close every night, a team of specialised personnel begin a thorough disinfection drive of SCRF’s halls, lobbies, publisher stands, books and other merchandise on display, and workshop areas. Both surfaces and the air are sterilised in line with internationally approved health and safety standards, and the team at work employs state-of-the-art smart ultra-violet devices for COVID-19 prevention and control.

During SCRF’s running hours, several volunteers are stationed at all access points and across the venue to ensure visitors adhere to the safety protocols, like wearing face masks and maintaining physical distancing. Moreover, sanitisers have been provided across the venue and visitors have to walk through a thermal scanner to enter the festival premises.

Badr Mohammed Saab, Head of Corporate Communication at SBA, and Member of the Sharjah Crisis and Disasters Committee, said: “SBA has implemented a stringent preventive and precautionary protocol at SCRF 2021 in collaboration with the Local Emergency and Disaster Team in Sharjah. These include a thorough disinfection every day, and instruction signs and physical distancing floor stickers for visitors.”

“Apart from daily sterilisation, we have controlled visitor numbers who can access the festival only after registration via SBA’s website or at the reception desks stationed at the festival access point,” he added.