The Commander in Chief of Dubai Police, Lieutenant General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, confirmed that success in carrying out a large number of sterilization operations and controlling the spread of the virus in specific foci such as the Al Ras and Nayef regions has several factors, the most important of which are the response of community members to the instructions, especially related to restricting movement during the total ban period , Which was implemented throughout the day for nearly three weeks, until a partial mitigation decision was issued.
The director of the General Traffic Department, Brigadier Saif Muheir Al Mazrouei, told «Emirates Today» that “sterilization work that was taking place in a week before the decision to restrict total movement, was carried out in only one day, when the decision was applied and the movement was banned around the clock.”
He added: “Traffic officers and personnel were deployed in the streets of the emirate around the clock, and five checkpoints were stationed on all exits leading to the Emirate of Sharjah, to monitor any violations or violations, and they were bound by strict controls to protect them from infection, and assisting them in controlling any violations or fraud, especially in transporting Workers to and from Dubai. ”
In light of the huge efforts in the sterilization program, which was made by most government departments in Dubai under the umbrella of the Supreme Committee for Crisis and Disaster Management, “Emirates Today” accompanied in a field tour the men of the General Traffic Department of Dubai Police, who are concerned in the first line of defense to implement the decision to restrict the movement, in whole or in part. And monitor violators of the precautionary measures announced by the state, such as social divergence and not exceeding the number allowed to ride a car and wear a muzzle, as well as exit without permission, as well as local decisions issued by the Supreme Committee, such as the non-transfer of contracting workers from other emirates to Dubai.
The head of the Dubai sergeant department, Captain Mohammed Khalifa Al Badawi, told «Emirates Today», on a tour of the main checkpoint on Al Wahda Street towards Sharjah, that «the situation was more difficult at first, no doubt, we face a mysterious enemy and we are applying new instructions to the public, whether associated By restricting movement, or the necessity of obtaining exit permits, and those related to social distancing and gag, and others ».
He added: “We worked from the beginning according to the directives of the Commander in Chief of Dubai Police, to focus on educating people, as we are in direct contact with them, especially since there is a group of drivers who do not have a culture to follow developments and learn about the media or communication networks, and we were surprised that some of them are not on Basically familiar with traffic restriction decisions or instructions related to precautionary measures.
Based on that, we were satisfied with initially writing warning violations only for people who are not committed, and it was necessary to have individuals fluent in different languages used in Dubai, to ensure awareness of everyone, stressing that the difficulties were more in the beginning, so Dubai police resorted to act decisively with the underprivileged, but It gradually decreased until there was a full commitment by all members of society.
He explained that the General Traffic Department was stationed in five main points for inspection on the Dubai borders with the Emirate of Sharjah, specifically in the streets of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the Emirates, Beirut, Damascus, and Al-Ittihad, noting the role of the Roads and Transport Authority in strengthening these points and providing them with logistical support, such as signs. The guides and cones, which protect patrols and policemen, allowed them the flexibility to move around.
He pointed out that there are certainly challenges that required confronting them with a great deal of focus and attention, such as commitment to social separation between traffic men themselves, and commitment to preventive measures, whether in dealing with drivers and passers-by or between them.
He pointed out that the General Command of Dubai Police did not spare the field teams with everything they needed, so a tent equipped with all the requirements was provided at all the checkpoints, and a strict sterilization system was applied for everyone who complied with him before assuming his duties and when they were completed.
He explained that these exceptional circumstances imposed several positions that we did not face before, such as some companies defrauding the decision to prevent the movement of workers from other emirates to Dubai during the period of restriction of movement, so some resorted to transporting them in special vehicles instead of buses, to the extent that we caught workers hiding in the boxes Backlight for private cars.
He added: “Some of the light bus drivers who are not committed to transfer the scheduled number according to the new instructions for the Korna virus, were sending workers before the checkpoint, and asking them to cross to the Emirate of Sharjah through internal streets, to ride the buses again after passing the inspection, but we engaged in cooperation with the Sharjah Police for these Methods as well ».
And Badawi said that these methods have now disappeared, and there is a great commitment from most companies and individuals, so sterilization operations were done faster and easier, compared to the early days.
# Emirates_Today on a field tour with #Dubai Police in the first line of defense pic.twitter.com/PADMIcxITJ
- Emirates Today (@emaratalyoum) May 2, 2020Preventative measurements
Captain Mohammed Khalifa Al-Badawi said, “The daily routine of traffic officers and members of the General Administration of Traffic has changed, in light of the Corona crisis, as we must adhere to strict controls daily. Every policeman must go to the headquarters of the administration an hour before receiving his work in the field, and submit to complete sterilization through a device. Dedicated to that, then he goes to receive the patrol, which in turn is subjected to daily sterilization, and receives his basic attachments from gloves and masks, in addition to providing a special suit to deal with emergency cases, with the aim of protecting him from any possibilities to catch the infection.
Seizing those who are trying to transfer workers ... and educating the public about "violations".
Strict controls to protect policemen from infection.