By Tamara Abueish

DUBAI -- Public sector employees in the United Arab Emirates will work five hours a day during Ramadan, the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources said in a circular on Sunday, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.

Federal and ministerial employees will be asked to work from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., the statement said.

Some federal government employees have been granted paid leave since the beginning of the month as part of the country’s ongoing measures to curb the coronavirus outbreak.

Ramadan, which is expected to begin on Thursday, is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and marks the period when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset.

The government is expected to announce the working hours of the private sector soon. -- Al Arabiya English