UAE leads the world in confronting the COVID-19 pandemic

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Dr Saif Al Dhaheri, spokesperson for the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority, said on Tuesday during the COVID-19 media briefing, that the UAE is among the top countries in the world in many indicators dealing with the pandemic, both for its effective efforts to address the virus issue through precautionary and preventive measures and to provide the vaccine for free to community members to curb the spread of coronavirus.

The UAE’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic is a balance between maintaining the safety of the community, restoring normalcy, resuming economic activities and accelerating production in various vital sectors.

Dr Saif said, “UAE is leading globally in many indicators for dealing with the pandemic, for its efforts in tackling the pandemic through precautionary and preventive measures and for providing free vaccine to community members besides its success in mitigating the pandemic’s consequences.”

The UAE ranked 2nd in the world in daily doses last week, with an average of 6.06 doses per 100 people.

It is the fifth country in the world to provide COVID-19 vaccination doses after the United States, China, the United Kingdom and Israel.

The UAE has succeeded in becoming the first country where the number tests exceed the total population since the beginning of the crisis for countries with a population of more than one million.

Dr Saif said, “The UAE has taken many necessary measures to contain the crisis, and the government has stipulated the practices and actions that violates the national health and safety procedures with penalties ranging from Dhs1,000 to 50,000.”

Measures have contributed to maintaining public health and strengthening government’s confidence, naturally leading to UAE being ranked first in Middle East and 3rd in the world in terms of public satisfaction with procedures, according to Toluna International Consumer Survey, June 2020.

Dr Saif said, “The community’s commitment to the procedures and guidelines was one of the main reasons why UAE succeeded in containing the first wave of the virus last year, and today we are renewing the bet on them, and trusting them to be key player in the face of the pandemic’s second wave.

“The community's commitment to official procedures and guidelines is the key to maintaining the achievements of the UAE in managing the COVID-19 pandemic and recovering from its effects at all levels; health, economic and social.”