The comments come from a speech made before the Qasr Al Bahr Council…

During a meeting of the Qasr Al Bahr Council, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, took a moment to reflect on, and praise the nation’s efforts in dealing with the Covid 19 pandemic.

Quoted in WAM, the Emirates Agency, HH Sheikh Mohamed said to the gathering: “Praise be to God for seeing you after a long time… We are very happy to see our family and brothers well.”

“Praise be to God for everything… We came out of the crisis with goodness, honor, safety, health and experiences, despite its difficulty and severity, but we learned a lot from it.”

Achievements that have come off the back of proactive, efficient, and world-leading policy strategies that helped name Abu Dhabi as the top city for response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The year 2020 was difficult and witnessed great challenges… But the UAE, thankfully, was able to be one of the first countries to emerge from the crisis… at a time when some countries faced great difficulties.”

 

He went on to say: “I want to assure you of the beginning of the return of life to normal in the country, whether in work, study, or the daily habits and practices of society, taking into account the precautionary reasons and taking into account some changes in our life behaviors.”

 

Sheikh Mohamed praised the efforts made by medical teams, the authorities and the community at large, but also offered condolences to those who lost loved ones.

The UAE has been praised by independent analytical parties for keeping one of the lowest mortality rates globally, and for its speed in setting up field hospitals, reaching the vulnerable, mass testing centres (so much so that Abu Dhabi is now a PCR test processing hub for other countries) and screening facilities, including drive-through options. The UAE was also one of the first countries to acquire and provide treatment with antiviral drug Sotrovimab, which proved to be almost 100 per cent effective in preventing death from Covid 19 where it was administered.

The UAE also spearheaded the research and development effort, not least in pioneering the world’s first Phase III trials of an inactivated viral vaccine.

Both new cases and deaths have dropped dramatically in the country and the UAE currently leads the world in percentage of the population that have received two doses and is number one globally for doses per 100 people (in the table of countries with a population of over one million).

Images: WAM