National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) in the UAE formed seven audit teams - one for each emirate - to ensure compliance with COVID-19 precautionary measures across the country. Dr.Saif Al Dhaheri, the official spokesperson of the NCEMA, said that this special method has been developed by the authority to monitor and inspect every part of the country in a bid to contain the spread of the virus.

This announcement was made by Dr Al Dhaheri during the media briefing of the UAE government on Monday on the latest developments in the fight against the COVID-19 crisis in the country. During the briefing, he stated that these efforts have been taken to follow up on the implementation of COVID-19 precautionary and preventive measures issued to ensure the health and safety of society.

"Concerned authorities across the local level in each emirate have intensified their monitoring and inspection campaigns and have been issuing fines to all individuals and institutions found in violation of the procedures and preventive measures developed by the UAE government with the aim of containing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, the results of these campaigns were reviewed in order to warn those found violating the precautionary measures," he said.

Dr. Al Dhaheri further stressed all concerned authorities across the seven emirates to follow up and monitor all violators. Reportedly, police forces have issued the highest number of fines to the violators followed by the municipalities and the departments of economic development and other bodies across all Emirates. This reflects the keenness of all authorities working to ensure that precautionary and preventive measures are being followed to limit the spread of the virus.

He added the violation of not wearing a face mask in public emerged in the highest frequency in various emirates with the Asian nationality receiving the most fines for not complying with the precautionary measure as per the latest data and figures. The authorities are aiming to raise awareness and interact with a number of groups who are most vulnerable to these violations. For these, social media campaigns are being prepared to understand the behaviors, cultures, and appropriate media, of people in order to ensure that every group follows the mandatory precautionary measures.

Later in the briefing, Dr. Al Dhaheri extended his gratitude to the citizens and residents in the UAE for their confidence and support to efforts by the government in response to the COVID-19 crisis over the past nine months. With the help of national harmony in the integrated national strategy against COVID-19, the UAE ranked at the forefront worldwide in the fight against the pandemic.

"The principle of transparency is the firm and original approach towards the process of development as provided by the UAE's first founders. The UAE leadership still continues to follow this approach as the fundamental pillar in response to the ongoing pandemic crisis since the beginning. The accuracy of the information, reliable sources, and positive control with no prejudice to the security and stability of society have been ensured in the best public interest," he said.

Dr Al Dhaheri went on to hail the efficiency of various agencies and relevant institutions in implementing and monitoring the decisions according to their competence as it helped in achieving the required results to limit the spread of Coronavirus and prevent the outbreak across various regions int he UAE. He added that this success was achieved through the compliance of precautionary measures in accordance with the national strategy which was under the consistent follow-up and guidance of Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Adviser.

Dr.Saif Al Dhaheri also confirmed that the NCEMA is working continuously with other authorities to follow up and monitor the response of the public to the developments made by the government efforts. He added that by monitoring the reactions, they received some inquiries and clarifications about the violations.

"We would like to clarify that all the violations that have been reviewed as of now are from a specific period of time - September 1-15, 2020 - and it does not necessarily include more nationalities than those which were reviewed. The total number of fines that were issued for violations during this period amounted to 24,894 which reflects the keenness of the concerned authorities to apply all forms of regulations to contain the spread of the virus and ensure the safety of the public," he added.

He further asserted that the authorities reviewed all violations issued by the competent teams in each emirate during this period, adding that an increase in the number of violations does not mean there is an increase in the number of infections. Instead, it is the result of extensive efforts taken by the local authorities to ensure that all precautionary protocols are implemented strictly across all regions, he said.

Dr. Al Dhaheri emphasised that the Emirati model of crisis management is inspired by its leadership to follow-up and direct the path to achieve success and boost the efficiency of the country's national resources for proactive response to limit the spread of the virus. He added that the society has a significant and direct role in achieving success as it ensures commitment and necessary response to the crisis.

"From every individual, we have been, and still, are seeking more commitment to ensure safety and maintain the health and security of all members of society. With crises, rumours abound and there are some who try to go outside the national system or attempt to prejudice the security and stability of society. In some situations, the law must be strictly applied to them," he noted.

In this context, the authority launched the "We Commit to Victory" campaign, in coordination with the national media strategy, to communicate to every individual and institution to create awareness about the need for committing to the precautionary norms to achieve success in ensuring the safety of all in the UAE. This will also help in ensuring that business activities across the country safety return to their normal operations.

"This campaign has achieved great success during the period as it crossed the 2-billion mark of positive interactions locally and regionally. It is important to note that the campaign would not have achieved this success without everyone's participation and commitment towards containing the spread of the virus," the official added.

He pointed out that one of the most crucial pillars of this success of the authority is proactive planning, adding that the UAE has demonstrated a proactive approach towards the crisis through its management and planning to contain the virus transmission. Joint exercises were implemented even before the outbreak of the first COVID-19 in the country on January 26, 2020.

"We announce that the authority also launched the efforts to prepare for the seasonal flu season starting from the month of July by instructing the health sector to prepare vaccination campaigns at the state level to ensure that the outbreak of influenza does not coincide with the response against COVID-19 infection. Significantly, similarities between "the symptoms and effects of the two infections during the same period could affect the efforts of the health sector and medical capacity in recovering from the pandemic crisis," he said.

An opinion poll was carried out by the National Emergency, Crisis, and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) in the previous period of the UAE's response against Coronavirus. As per the polls, 96.3% of the respondents hailed that efforts taken by the UAE government against the pandemic with the administration's competence obtaining 95% support, care 95.9%, speed 93.5%, and transparency 91.5% of the respondents. The results of the polls also state that 94.5% of the respondents expressed confidence that the UAE will overcome the impact of Coronavirus pandemic.

Dr Saif Al Dhaheri also affirmed that the confidence of the community reflects trust in the efforts of the leadership and solidarity with all national and local state institutions. It reflects the commitment of the UAE community, including citizens and residents, to ensure the provision of the highest standards of security and safety against the pandemic crisis.