In a major development in the battle against the global health pandemic, all private sector healthcare facilities in Abu Dhabi have declared themselves free of COVID-19 cases. The Department of Health - Abu Dhabi, DoH, on Friday, confirmed that all private healthcare facilities in the Emirate are COVID-19 free.

These contain a total of 17 hospitals including seven NMC Healthcare, nine hospitals under VPS Healthcare, and Ain Al Khaleej Hospital. All these hospitals have announced the discharge of their last virus-infected patients, adding that they are ready to provide a full range of other healthcare services to the patients.

Meanwhile, people suffering from any respiratory symptoms have been advised to visit specialized hospitals including Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Khalifa Medical City Hospital and Al Ain Hospital in Al Ain which have been designated exclusively to treat COVID-19 patients.

Earlier in June, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Healthpoint and Imperial College London Diabetes Centre, Mediclinic hospitals in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain had confirmed that there they were free of Coronavirus cases in their facilities.

In addition, LLH Hospital in Abu Dhabi City, Burjeel Hospital, Medeor Hospital, Lifecare Hospital in Baniyas, Lifecare Hospital and LLH Hospital in Musaffah, Medeor International Hospital in Al Ain, and Burjeel Royal Hospital are among other healthcare facilities that have declared themselves COVID-19 free.

Speaking over the development, Chairman and Managing Director of VPS Healthcare, Dr ShamsheerVayalil, called it a privilege to have worked with the UAE leadership in fighting the pandemic.

"The nation has done a commendable job in flattening the curve. The number of cases has come down significantly as part of the health department's ongoing efforts in conducting massive testing, early detection and treatment mechanisms," Dr Vayalil said.

Intensifying the efforts to combat the spread of the virus, VPS Healthcare has dedicated its newest facility Burjeel Medical City to treat the patients. In addition, the yet-to-be opened facility in Abu Dhabi's Mohammed bin Zayed City has arranged about 400 inpatient rooms to treat the COVID-19 cases.

NMC Healthcare CEO Michael Davis also affirmed that the hospitals which have declared themselves COVID-19 free can focus on patients suffering from other illnesses.

"Achieving Covid-19 free status will be welcomed by anxious patients who waited weeks for procedures that were important. Hernia repair, cancer operations, knee replacements, IVF treatment and even a staged cosmetic surgery are among the wide range of elective surgeries that come with varying degrees of complexity and urgency," he said.

Various NMC healthcare facilities in the UAE including NMC Specialty Hospital, NMC Royal Hospital Khalifa City, NMC Royal Women's Hospital, Bareen International Hospital in Fakih IVF, NMC Provita and Americare, among others have reportedly resumed other medical services.

"From the industry point of view, shutting down elective surgeries and only focusing on COVID-19 patients had led to layoffs, furloughs, and pay cuts across the health-care sector. After weeks and months of delays, hospitals and surgery centres faced mounting financial pressure and a backlog of patients. Let's all focus now on bringing life back to normalcy," Michael Davis added.

According to state news agency WAM, Dr. Jamal Mohammed Al Kaabi, Acting Undersecretary of DoH, responded to the development saying that it is the efforts of the brave frontline workers who have been working alongside the UAE leadership in the fight against the ongoing pandemic.

As of now, the UAE has reported over 54,000 infected cases, out of whom more than 43,900 people have recovered from the disease.