Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces says health situation in UAE is safe and reassuring, reports Asian Lite News
His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, has said, “We overcame the COVID-19 crisis and learned many lessons from the experience. As life in the UAE begins to return to normal, we give thanks to God.”
At Qasr Al Bahr Majlis, Sheikh Mohamed said, “Today is a blessed day as we see you all here. I want to reiterate that life has started to go back to normalcy in the UAE, be it at work, educational facilities, or while practicing our daily habits and activities, with taking precautionary measures into consideration and applying some behaviour changes in our daily lives.”
The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi welcomed the attendees, expressing his pleasure to see them all safe and sound, and in good health. “Thank God for seeing you all after a long period. Our joy is endless to see our families and brothers here.”
He also offered his condolences to everyone who lost a loved one due to the coronavirus, saying, “2020 was a tough year with many challenges. However, the UAE, with the grace of God, was able to be at the forefront of countries that managed to overcome the crisis, at a time other countries were facing a lot of difficulties.”
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The comments come as the UAE sees a dramatic reduction in daily Covid-19 case counts, hitting an 18-month low of 156 new cases on Wednesday. They also come during the first week of the Dubai Expo, a six-month mega-event meant to showcase innovations from all over the world, raise Dubai’s international profile and boost tourism to the Gulf emirate, which saw nearly 9% of its population leave in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Sheikh Mohamed stressed that three factors have mainly contributing to bringing life to normalcy: the availability of the vaccines; the continuity of testing; in addition to the availability of some of the latest treatments in the UAE and some other countries worldwide.
He referred that the daily cases have dropped to below 500 cases, which is a promising sign that indicates that coronavirus is under control and is now less dangerous than before.
The UAE’s coronavirus experience has varied by emirate; Dubai saw a strict lockdown in the spring of 2020, then gradually reopened through the summer, becoming one of the first cities to reopen to tourism the following July. UAE capital Abu Dhabi has been more strict, but recently loosened several restrictions.
The country hit a peak of nearly 4,000 cases a day in February of this year, but also boasted one of the fastest vaccination campaigns in the world, with Dubai residents in particular enjoying relative ease of travel and social mobility compared to much of the rest of the world.
Life in Dubai in particular feels closer to “normal” than at any point during the pandemic; groups of up to 10 people can sit at tables in restaurants, businesses have reopened to full capacity, and bars and gyms are bustling and the airport is busy. Masks remain required in most places, however, and activities like dancing in clubs and bars are still not allowed.
His Highness Sheikh Mohamed concluded his speech with thanking God, and said, “We thank God for everything. We have overcome the crisis with ease and grace, and safe, and we have learned a lot of lessons, despite the difficulty and intensity of the crisis.”
He also thanked the field and medical teams on all their efforts that have been and still being made to bring the pandemic under control, expressing his appreciation for the response and cooperation of the members of the society who have helped a lot in overcoming the dangers of the pandemic and lessening its impact.
Present at the Majlis were H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region; H.H. Sheikh Tahnoun bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Ruler’s Representative in Al Ain Region; H.H. Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council; H.H. Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation; H.H. Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior; H.H. Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council; H.H. Sheikh Theyab bin Zayed Al Nahyan; H.H. Sheikh Khalid bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Board of Zayed Higher Organisation for People of Determination; H.H. Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Executive Council, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Office; H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan; in addition to a number of sheikhs and senior officials.
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