A ten-day period of mourning was announced in Dubai on Wednesday after the death of High Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Deputy Ruler of Dubai and the Minister of Finance and Industry.
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Flags will be flown at half-mast per a directive from the UAE President, according to the Dubai Media Office, for a period of 10 days from today.
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Work in government departments and governmental institutions in the emirate will be suspended for a period of three days starting tomorrow, Thursday, March 25.
The Dubai Media Office also stated that prayers will be limited to family members because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with absentee prayers to be performed for the dearly departed Sheikh Hamdan in the UAE’s mosques today after Maghrib prayer.
Broadcasts such as radio will also be suspended for the time being in the UAE.
The news of HH Sheikh Hamdan’s passing was announced by his brother, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minster of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, through his official Twitter account.
Sheikh Hamdan was one of the UAE’s leading supporters of thoroughbred racing, which has become synonymous with the emirate. He was an icon in that field.
Sheikh Hamdan was the second son of Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who passed away in 1990 after ruling the emirate for 32 years, beginning in 1958.
Sheikh Hamdan spent his life in Dubai, studying at Al-Ahlia school before travelling to Bell School of Languages in Cambridge, according to Gulf News.
