Early medical collaboration between Germany and the UAE at the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic played an important role in shaping the countries’ responses to the disease, the ambassador to Germany has said.
Hafsa Al Ulama, the UAE Ambassador in Berlin, told The National both Germany and the UAE had worked closely on their response to the global pandemic, concentrating on the importance of testing to combat the novel coronavirus.
“There has been a lot of information that we provide to the German side and the German side also sends us information about what they are doing and the best practices,” the ambassador explained.
“The main key area in Germany that they keep focusing on is that we need to do a lot of tests,” she said. “In the absence of doing the tests you really don't know what to exclude. Tests are very important.”
Both the UAE and Germany are far above international averages when it comes to the pace and scale at which they have undertaken coronavirus testing.
The UAE has conducted over 220,000 Covid-19 tests, according to the Ministry of Health and Prevention. The figure makes the UAE by far and away the world leader in the number of total tests per capita.
The Emirates is also setting up drive-through testing centres throughout the country.
A lab has also been set up in Masdar City capable of testing tens of thousands of Covid-19 patients every day. The facility, the first of its kind outside China, will dramatically speed up diagnosis of the disease.
German laboratories have reached a testing rate of more than 50,000 tests per day. The total number of tests carried out in Germany is 918,460 according to the Robert Koch Institute which is leading the country’s coronavirus response.
The high levels of German testing contrast starkly with other European nations and have allowed Berlin to more closely track the rate of infection.
The expansive testing programme in the country is also one of the reasons Germany’s mortality rate is so much lower than elsewhere in Europe, now the epicentre of the global coronavirus crisis.
Ms Al Ulama explained that the UAE's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed held early calls with his German counterpart Heiko Maas at the start of the Covid-19 outbreak.
“When really it was spreading very fast, they had discussions on working together and exchanging notes to compare different practices,” she explained.
As with South Korea before them, both the UAE and Germany have found that testing has shown a path out of the public health emergency. “Once they know the numbers, they know how to handle the issues much faster,” the ambassador said.
In the face of the coronavirus crisis, the UAE embassy in Berlin has been working round the clock to safeguard UAE citizens still in Germany.
There were more than 400 UAE nationals in in Germany at the beginning of the month, many of them patients. Three quarters were taken home before the government suspended all inbound, outbound and transit passenger flights in March.
Those who remain are mostly patients who are too sick to travel. “That number is still here because we have a lot of patients and their families who are here and cannot travel. It is not possible for them to make a move so they are under care here in Germany,” the ambassador explained.
Among those who remain are also medical students who have stayed behind to learn in the crisis and those embassy and government workers who are supporting Emiratis still in Germany.
“This is a crisis situation so everyone has been working even harder,” the ambassador explained. “You have to have teamwork and team spirit. I am very pleased and very proud of that team that has been working here,” Ms Al Ulama explained.
The biog
Job: Fitness entrepreneur, body-builder and trainer
Favourite superhero: Batman
Favourite quote: We must become the change we want to see, by Mahatma Gandhi.
Favourite car: Lamborghini
Results
Women finals: 48kg - Urantsetseg Munkhbat (MGL) bt Distria Krasniqi (KOS); 52kg - Odette Guiffrida (ITA) bt Majlinda Kelmendi (KOS); 57kg - Nora Gjakova (KOS) bt Anastasiia Konkina (Rus)
Men’s finals: 60kg - Amiran Papinashvili (GEO) bt Francisco Garrigos (ESP); 66kg - Vazha Margvelashvili (Geo) bt Yerlan Serikzhanov (KAZ)
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Read more about the coronavirus
Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204-cylinder%202.0L%20TSI%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dual%20clutch%207-speed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20320HP%20%2F%20235kW%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20400Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20%2449%2C709%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE SPECS
Cadillac XT6 2020 Premium Luxury
Engine: 3.6L V-6
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 310hp
Torque: 367Nm
Price: Dh280,000
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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THE BIO
BIO:
Born in RAK on December 9, 1983
Lives in Abu Dhabi with her family
She graduated from Emirates University in 2007 with a BA in architectural engineering
Her motto in life is her grandmother’s saying “That who created you will not have you get lost”
Her ambition is to spread UAE’s culture of love and acceptance through serving coffee, the country’s traditional coffee in particular.
West Indies v England ODI series:
West Indies squad: Jason Holder (c), Fabian Allen, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Evin Lewis, Ashley Nurse, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Kemar Roach, Oshane Thomas.
Fixtures:
1st ODI - February 20, Bridgetown
2nd ODI - February 22, Bridgetown
3rd ODI - February 25, St George's
4th ODI - February 27, St George's
5th ODI - March 2, Gros Islet
Mrs%20Chatterjee%20Vs%20Norway
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ashima%20Chibber%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rani%20Mukerji%2C%20Anirban%20Bhattacharya%20and%20Jim%20Sarbh%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
THE SPECS
Touareg Highline
Engine: 3.0-litre, V6
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 340hp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh239,312
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