Children aged 3 and above must wear masks in public
Authorities in the UAE issued a reminder that children aged 3 and above must wear face masks in public.
Dr Farida Al Hosani, official spokeswoman for the UAE health sector, said masks were crucial in preventing the spread of Covid-19.
Medical-grade masks offer the best protection, she said at an online session about Covid-19.
“Children over the age of 3 should wear face masks, while those under that age should wear face shields,” Dr Al Hosani said.
She said parents should avoid taking their children to crowded areas and “especially playgrounds”.
“The Covid-19 pandemic crisis has affected citizens and residents and changed lifestyles, habits and the way people interact with each other within the Emirati community,” she said.
“It also made families and the community adopt new healthy lifestyles and encouraged children and the youth to take responsibilities and be independent, and changed several negative lifestyles.”
Dr Al Hosani said it was important for the public to be vaccinated against Covid-19 to reduce the rate of infection and protect others, particularly the elderly and children.
She said the UAE planned to “enlarge the scope of people taking the vaccine” to achieve herd immunity.
Children were thought to be less at risk from the disease but figures from around the world show a different story.
In Brazil, at least 852 children up to the age of 9 died from Covid-19 between February last year and March this year. That included 518 infants under a year old, according to figures from the Ministry of Health.
Brazilian authorities said children should wear face masks and use hand sanitiser.
Meanwhile, research showed that the Sinopharm vaccine is more than 90 per cent effective at keeping people infected with the virus out of hospital.
The research, conducted by Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre, found that the vast majority of people infected after receiving the vaccine suffer mild symptoms and do not require treatment in hospital.
The vaccine was found to be 93 per cent effective at keeping infected people out of hospital and 95 per cent effective at keeping people out of intensive care, the study found.
No deaths were recorded among people who received “all doses required” of the Sinopharm shot, Abu Dhabi Government Media Office said.