UAE tackles virus crisis with telling effect

The UAE’s handling of the coronavirus crisis has been exemplary, to say the least. Unlike countries such as America, India or Brazil, it has succeeded in keeping a lid on further infections.

The total number of deaths are less than 1,600, which is a creditable achievement.

There are several reasons. First, the types of vaccines available in the country are among the best in the world. The UAE aims to enlarge the scope of people taking the vaccine to reach acquired immunity, which will reduce infections.

 Also, there is strong cooperation between all public and private entities, individuals and national health authorities in implementing the government’s directives and recommendations related to adopting appropriate precautionary measures to address the pandemic. The Ministry of Justice is keen to implement the health sector’s instructions to ensure the safety of its employees and customers.

The Ministry is keen to accelerate the implementation of relevant laws and legislation, to keep pace with developments related to COVID-19 and ensure adherence to relevant precautionary measures and the business continuity of courts.

Dr Farida Al Hosani, Official Spokesperson of the UAE Health Sector and Director of the Communicable Diseases Department of the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre (ADPHC), thanked the national justice sector and highlighted its fundamental role, as a partner, in establishing order in the country, which contributed to the success of the UAE’s efforts to address the pandemic.

Judge Dr Saeed Ali Bahbouh Al Naqbi, Acting Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, said that the UAE is a successful model of addressing the coronavirus pandemic, due to the vision and unlimited support of its leadership while expressing the appreciation of the Ministry of Justice and its employees to Dr Al Hosani for her significant efforts.

Dr Al Hosani emphasised several key pillars, most notably using face masks, and importance of using licensed medical face masks to protect everyone’s health and safety, and refraining from taking children to crowded areas, especially playgrounds. She then stressed taking the vaccine to reduce infections and protecting everyone, most notably elderly people and children.

The total number of doses provided up to today stands at 9,630,200 with a rate of vaccine distribution of 97.37 doses per 100 people. This is in line with the Ministry’s plan to provide the coronavirus vaccine to all members of society and efforts to reach acquired immunity resulting from the vaccination, which will help reduce the number of cases and control the virus.

The moves by the UAE government to make things as comfortable as possible for residents, particularly women, are praiseworthy. On Saturday, the Dubai Health Authority announced that as part of the expansion of the eligibility criteria for COVID-19 vaccination, women who are breastfeeding as well as those who are planning to conceive can take the mRNA vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech).

Furthermore, patients who had COVID-19 no longer need to wait for three months to get the vaccine. They can take it on completion of their isolation, provided the infection was mild or non-symptomatic.

This comes even as countries such as Brazil and India are grappling with a virus crisis that has become extremely acute.

India is the world’s second most-infected nation with almost 14.8 million cases. On Monday, it was revealed that Delhi would be imposing a total curfew from 10pm on Monday till next Monday morning.

The UAE’s handling of the coronavirus crisis has fetched it honours. It has ranked first in the Middle East in the list of best countries that addressed the coronavirus crisis. The nation was also the first country in the world where the number of coronavirus tests surpassed the actual population.