News

UAE conducts over four million COVID-19 tests

13 Jul, 2020:
At the regular government press briefing, held today, Dr. Abdul Rahman bin Mohammad bin Nasser Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention, announced that a third stage study of a possible vaccine against Covid-19 has been approved by the Ethics Committee Scientific research in Abu Dhabi. This approval paves the way for the start of third stage clinical trials which will ensure the safety and efficacy of the vaccine on a larger segment of individuals.

Al Owais also announced that the specialised medical institutions in the country have conducted more than four million medical examinations and praised the vigor of the heroes of the first line of defense and their efforts to preserve the safety of society and ensure the health of everyone.

On the details of the third stage clinical trials for a possible vaccine, Al Owais explained that this stage includes conducting a research study on two types of vaccinations with the participation of more than 15,000 volunteers. He stressed that the best scientific standards will be adopted when conducting the medical studies and noted that the success of this stage could lead to the start of the manufacturing stage.

During the briefing, Dr. Amna Al-Dahhak Al-Shamsi, the official spokesman for the UAE Government, revealed the developments of the health situation and the number of cases related to Covid-19, and Mohamed Hassan Ahly, the spokesperson and Executive Director of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority, announced the launch of the special statistics platform presenting Covid-19 data from the UAE.

Al-Dahhak stressed that all efforts from the government continue and the best evidence for this is the announcement of the new government structure in the UAE, which reflects good leadership, a keenness to be flexible, readiness to deal with future challenges and develop all opportunities. She also noted that the UAE will be on course with a new achievement through the launch of the Hope Probe, and that this achievement carries with it the aspirations and hopes of future generations.

In detail, Dr. Amna Al-Dahhak announced that the number of new daily examinations reached 34,478 resulting in the diagnosing of 344 cases, all of which received the necessary medical treatment. The total number of registered cases now stands at 55,198.

Al-Dahhak revealed that 373 new recoveries were recorded, bringing the total number of recoveries in the country to 45,513. There are 9,351 patients still receiving medical care and one death was recorded, bringing the total deaths to 334.

For his part, Mohamed Hassan Ahly, the official spokesman and Executive Director of the Statistics and National Data Sector at the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority announced the launch of the statistical platform for Covid-19 data from the United Arab Emirates, which is an important step and another achievement to add to the collective efforts of all national institutions specialized in dealing with the pandemic.

The new platform is a joint cooperation between three official bodies, namely the Ministry of Health and Prevention, the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority and the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority. The launch of the platform reflects the desire of the UAE government to promote a culture of transparency and sharing of reliable information and data that supports decision makers, researchers and all concerned.