Mohamed bin Zayed updated on Coronavirus containment efforts

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, has learned about the ongoing national efforts to curb the proliferation of the COVID-19 and contain its repercussions.

This came in a virtual communication meeting convened in the attendance of H.H. Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council, H.H. Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Adviser, H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, H.H. Sheikh Khalid bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Office, Member of the Executive Council, and a number of senior officials.

During the video conference, Sheikh Mohamed conveyed the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to harness all available resources in support of the coronavirus containment efforts.

"People's safety in the UAE is a paramount priority irrespective of any other considerations. Ensuring public safety is our top responsibility," said Sheikh Mohamed, doubling on the exigency that all measures being taken in this respect are efficient enough to address the ongoing daunting challenge.

"We won't hesitate to take any further precautionary steps if necessity arises over the coming period," he emphasised.

"The current circumstances we're going through entail maximum awareness and realisation of the necessity of following all precautionary measures and guidelines to contain the spread of the virus, he added, noting that " we all share a joint responsibility toward propagating a culture of an efficient societal response to the virus-containment efforts."

He hailed the efficiency of the government and private health sectors, terming them as the first line of defence against the novel virus. He also appreciated the efforts made by the medical and nursing teams along with the technical and administrative staff in the country as well the shared sectors contributing to protecting the UAE society and ensuring its safety.

Sheikh Mohamed underlined the importance of adopting a holistic approach to ensure a comprehensive epidemiological investigation mechanism linking together all stakeholders and competent bodies in confronting the proliferation of the virus.

He stressed the necessity of continuing the educational process in a way that ensures student safety and achieve the educational vision and mission at the same time by employing state-of-the-art technology and modern communication techniques.

He described the role played by media as key in combatting the virus by raising awareness and addressing rumours and fake news, while conveying the health status in the right manner and steering clear of overblown coverage of the developments.

The Abu Dhabi Crown Prince called for doubling efforts to combat the ongoing hazard and maintaining synergy and coordination with all national departments and multilaterals in this regard.

For his part, Abdul Rahman bin Mohammad bin Nasser Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention, revealed that most of the infected cases are in ''stable'' condition except for two cases who are still under intensive care.

''The capacity and readiness of all health facilities and labs in the public and private sectors have been upgraded to conduct high-efficiency virus tests,'' said Al Owais, adding that all passengers arriving in the UAE are subject to precautionary measures, including medical examinations and thermal scanning through 32 land, sea and air exit-entry points.

''The UAE has a sufficient strategic reserve of essential medical equipment to conduct advanced tests for COVID-19, in addition to other necessary medical supplies and facilities, such as airborne infection isolation rooms, in addition to 500-700 specialist medical teams working round the clock,'' the minister affirmed.

Addressing the video conference on the distance learning issue, Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of Education, said most of the universities and schools are now applying the e-learning system after up to 1,196 training workshops have been organised on how to operate the system by launching pilots at a number of schools.

''Some 508 principals have been trained and now we have 620-e-learning enabled schools,'' he explained.

On school bus safety measures, the minister noted that more than 4,950 drivers and 5,171 attendants and escorts have been trained on safety protocols to handle emergencies and apply precautionary measures.

"We have also 667 highly trained nursing professionals to deal with any potential case in the school community,'' he concluded.

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