In a significant development in the fight against COVID-19, the Abu Dhabi Emergency Crisis and Disasters Committee for COVID-19 Pandemic has announced a major drop in the prevalence of Coronavirus in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The announcement has been made by the Committee, in collaboration with Abu Dhabi's Department of Health, after reviewing the findings of diligent virus screening initiatives and detection campaigns across the Emirate carried out under the National Screening Programme. 

Releasing a statement over the development, the Committee stated that all initiatives taken by the authorities have helped in combatting the spread of the virus in the region successfully. The statement added that the percentage of confirmed cases out of the total tests has decreased to 0.3 percent in Abu Dhabi City.

"The initiatives, along with precautionary and preventative measures, have resulted in curbing the spread of the virus, with the percentage of confirmed cases out of total tests carried out in all regions of the emirate decreasing to 0.3 percent in Abu Dhabi City, 0.4 percent in Al Dhafra, and 0.6 percent in Al Ain City," the Committee statement reads.

Earlier in June, the Committee had explained the objective of the National Screening Programme to achieve a rate of Coronavirus infection below one percent. The National Screening Programme further carried out awareness campaigns related to the global pandemic across all regions to inform the public about the importance of following precautionary measures as a national responsibility to tackle the spread of the virus.

The Committee asserted that awareness campaigns helped in increasing the rate of adherence to precautionary measures and physical distancing among the public which furthered the decline in case ratios to the current levels. 

"The prime objective of the programme is to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus and limit infection via ongoing screening and providing free testing for various community groups with a range of active detection initiatives. These include home testing, as well as testing campaigns for densely populated residential neighbourhoods, industrial and workers’ areas, farms, and ranches," the Committee added.

It highlighted that it will continue to take efforts to achieve the desired goal of putting the pandemic under complete control and making the region virus-free, with the support of the Department of Health and relevant entities in Abu Dhabi.

The Committee went on to reiterate its appeal to community members to continue following the preventative and precautionary measures, frequent hand-washing and sanitisation, wearing face masks in public places, and observing physical distancing such that the authorities could continue to effectively protect the health and safety of the public.

WAM