UAE action on virus praiseworthy: Ahmed Bin Saeed

DUBAI: Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, has thanked the UAE’S health authorities for their 24/7 commitment and efficiency in keeping the country’s travellers, communities and the cities safe during the new coronavirus, COVID-19, crisis.

Sheikh Ahmed said: “We are conscious that as a country, which is a global travel hub and has the world’s busiest international airport in Dubai, we have the responsibility of rolling out the world’s best in class health and safety measures.

“The health authorities have been working with international bodies and experts to ensure we educate our communities and travellers on precautions and hand hygiene. Our highly trained teams are working around the clock to offer the maximum levels of care to our communities, and are monitoring international travellers who are transiting through or arriving in the UAE. They continue to do a stellar job, and their efforts will help our country retain its status as a global travel hub,” he affirmed.

The World Health Organisation, WHO, has pegged the risk assessment of COVID-19 at the highest level, but is yet to declare it a pandemic. According to WHO, on 4th March, 119 countries have not detected any cases of the virus. Of the 75 countries with cases, 47 have 10 cases or less. This means travel continues to be safe as long as governments and people take the right actions and precautions.

At Dubai International airport, every traveller goes through unobtrusive thermal screening. For travellers and crew who are arriving from countries of concern and COVID-19 hotspots, the health authorities conduct medical checks that include enhanced temperature checks and nose swabs. When they detect a positive case, they follow international guidelines and conduct additional tests, which in turn help to support and treat the person.

The dedicated medical teams at the airport try to complete the screening of passengers and crew of a flight within 40 minutes.

Emirates Airline has implemented enhanced disinfection procedures on all flights arriving to and departing from Dubai. The airline’s operational teams are using stronger, approved chemicals and materials, and using deeper cleaning techniques to thoroughly disinfect aircraft cabins. All aircraft have High Efficiency Particulate Air, HEPA, filters, which are proven to remove more than 99 percent of viruses in the cabin environment.

The precautions and measures rolled out by the health authorities are continuing to make air travel safe for local communities, international travellers and employees.