Sharjah launches massive drone-powered virus drive
The local emergency crises and disaster team in Sharjah, in co-operation with the Air Wing Department of the General Directorate of Security Support at the Ministry of Interior, has launched a large-scale campaign to raise health awareness among community members against COVID-19.
The campaign includes broadcasting direct awareness messages through police patrols and drones, in addition to conducting air patrols to monitor compliance with preventive and precautionary measures, to limit the spread of the emerging COVID-19, and preserve the health and safety of society.
The local team reported that the multilingual campaign was launched at noon on Friday, using police patrols and drones broadcasting through loudspeakers. They covered 35 sites including industrial zones and mosque courtyards “before and ater the Friday prayers,” in addition to conducting patrols in different areas to reach all members of society.
Also on Friday, the UAE Federal Public Prosecution has clarified that it was obligatory on the principal of an educational institution or the manager of an establishment to inform the health authorities if a student or worker was found infected with a communicable disease such as COVID-19.
In a video post published on its accounts on social media (uae_pp@), the Public Prosecution invoked Article 12 of the Federal Law No 14 of 2014 concerning Prevention of Communicable Diseases which stipulates: “If a director of an educational institution or any other facility suspects any student or employee has been infected with a communicable disease, he must refer the suspected person to the specialist doctor for examination and provide him with a report stating his/her disease. If it is proven that the person has this disease, the director must inform the Ministry of Health and Prevention or the competent health department immediately and take the appropriate measures to prevent the spread of the disease.”
The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) recorded 3,140 new coronavirus cases on Friday.
In addition to the new cases, 4,349 individuals have recovered and 20 people passed away.
The MOHAP has also announced that 93,101 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were administered in the past 24 hours.
The total number of doses provided up to Friday stands at 5,466,831 with a rate of vaccine distribution of 55.27 doses per 100 people.
Meanwhile, confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide have reached 110,341,923. According to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University, fatalities stood at 2.4 million.
India reported on Friday its biggest jump in new coronavirus infections in three weeks, with 13,193 cases, while thousands of marshals fanned out to enforce mask wearing across the financial capital of Mumbai, which is batling a recent spurt.
In recent days, 75% of India’s new cases have been reported from the southern state of Kerala and Maharashtra, home to Mumbai, a densely populated city of 20 million people. The two states already had the highest number of reported infections.
G7 leaders agreed on Friday to “intensify cooperation” in response to the coronavirus pandemic and increase funding commitments for the rollout of vaccines in the world’s poorest countries to $7.5 billion.
“Today, with increased financial commitments of over $4 billion USD to ACT-A and COVAX, collective G7 support totals $7.5 billion,” the elite club comprising Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US said in a joint statement.
Germany and other wealthy countries may need to give some of their own stock of vaccines to developing countries in addition to money, since only vaccinating the whole world will end the coronavirus pandemic, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday.
Speaking ater a video conference of leaders of the G7 group of large developed economies, Merkel said they had not discussed specific percentages of their vaccine stocks that should be given to poorer countries. But she told journalists: “I stressed in my intervention that the pandemic is not over until all people in the world have been vaccinated.”
The first dose of the Pfizer vaccination is 85 per cent effective against coronavirus infection between two and four weeks ater inoculation, according to a study published in the Lancet medical journal.
Schools, companies in UAE told to inform about virus patients; country reports 20 deaths and 3,140 cases; global cases top 110m, deaths stand at 2.4m; India reports highest virus cases in 3 weeks; G7 nations commit $7.5b to vaccine funding.