Watch: Dubai Crown Prince opens coronavirus field hospital in World Trade Center

Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum inaugurated on Saturday a field hospital for coronavirus patients in Dubai World Trade Center.

During his field trip, Sheikh Hamdan inspected the various facilities of the new hospital and met a group of doctors and those operating the hospital, which supports the health system in Dubai and comes within the preventive measures to enhance the emirate's capabilities in dealing with COVID-19.

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The field hospital at Dubai World Trade Center can house 3,000 coronavirus patients.

Sheikh Hamdan said: “Today we inaugurated the field hospital located at Dubai World Trade Centre. We continue to move forward amid the current global health crisis. We are grateful our healthcare situation is stable due to the leadership’s support, our entities' efforts & the community's commitment.”

“The Dubai Government, its medical staff, frontline defense teams and volunteers are prepared and ready to respond to their calls of duty. Today, your health and safety is our top priority and we are committed, as always, to provide services for the well-being of everyone in Dubai.”

The Crown Prince had chaired on Thursday a virtual meeting of the Supreme Committee for Crisis and Disaster Management in Dubai and was briefed on the committee’s efforts and coordination with government entities to ensure a robust mechanism in dealing with developments linked to COVID-19.

He said then: “Thankfully, the situation is under control. We trust in our community’s compliance; their awareness is what will get us through this transient time. Our only goal now is your protection and achieving the health and safety of all will always rank highest on our priorities.”

“We stand united with our frontline heroes for their eternally valued efforts. A huge thanks also goes out to all citizens and residents for their exemplary cooperation in implementing the precautionary measures taken in Dubai over the past few weeks.”

He added: “Obstacles and challenges are two words that don’t exist in the UAE’s dictionary. We believe in hope and opportunity and we’re confident in our ability to overcome the repercussions of COVID-19 through concerted efforts that will resume our stride to success.”

“The best is yet to come.”

Dubai hospitals currently have between 4,000 and 5,000 beds available, authorities are preparing to increase their capacity to up to 10,000 or more beds, Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority Humaid al-Qutami said at a press conference last week.

Coronavirus testing in UAE

The UAE has conducted more than 814,000 coronavirus tests so far.

The authorities had also opened at least 14 drive-thrus capable of screening hundreds of people on a daily basis.

The UAE’s first drive-thru center was established in Abu Dhabi on March 28. Following the success of the first center, Abu Dhabi authorities announced they were rolling out ten more drive-thru centers across the country, including Fujairah.

Last week, Dubai launched its third center.

In addition to mobile testing centers, the UAE has also established a massive testing laboratory in coordination with genomics company BGI and Abu Dhabi technology company Group 42 (G42). The country has also launched a home-testing service for people with disabilities.

The increase in testing means the UAE could flatten its curve – the number of new cases recorded daily – within two to three weeks, according Dr. Adil Sajwani, a family medicine doctor with the Ministry of Health and Prevention and a member of the national awareness team for COVID-19 in the UAE.

“We hope that we will contain the disease in the next two to three weeks,” Sajwani told Al Arabiya English. “But people are still going out, they’re still gathering, some are still having parties, so this is also a challenge. Containing or flattening the curve is a challenge.”

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