UAE has taken early measures in fight against COVID-19: His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed.

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, has expressed strong belief that the world will survive the current challenging circumstances.

"We will get through the ongoing tough times and survive the myriad challenges we and the entire world are now experiencing. The hard time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to get stronger than before," His Highness Sheikh Mohamed told a number of Sheikhs, ministers and officials at Qasr Al Bahr Majlis today.

"The world is going through tough times. We, in the UAE, are lucky, as our conditions are relatively better thanks to many factors, primarily the availability of qualified human cadres capable of efficiently shouldering the responsibility toward confronting the proliferation of the COVID-19. The UAE is faring well, all thanks to the early efforts and measures in place to face this virus."

"We all have seen the difference between the nations which have adopted early precautionary measures and those which haven't. The former are more successful in containing the spread of the virus and addressing its repercussions, even though they've started only a few days or weeks earlier than the latter," he continued.

"We are racing against time in confronting the besetting challenges. In the UAE, we have adopted rational and early advanced precautionary measures before other countries around us to stand up to the challenge. And therefore, the infection tally in the UAE is less thanks to our early response to contain the virus at its onset."

"The UAE has benefitted from the experience of other advanced countries, like Singapore, South Korea and China in confronting the virus. And we are still maintaining transparent channels of coordination with them. Until now we are among the most successful nations in the region in addressing this challenge, both in terms of the number of individuals who have been examined and the potential and resources boasted by the country in this regard."

On the challenges faced by several world countries in relation to food and medical supplies, Sheikh Mohamed reassured all UAE nationals and residents that the nation is able to "provide all required food and medical supplies continuously and infinitely."

"There are a lot of things the State is doing which we can't reveal. However, our officials in charge know pretty well that medications and food supplies are a red line in the UAE. I'd like to reassure every citizen and resident of the UAE that our country is infinitely able to supply everyone with all the food and medicine they could ever need. We are well prepared to face any challenge that arises. We have started our preparation ahead of Coronavirus, and Thank God, the UAE is now secure and stable. We have an advanced infrastructure and we're geared for all challenges whatsoever they are."

Sheikh Mohamed expressed sincere thanks to the entire medical and paramedical teams provided by the Ministry of Health and Prevention. "I send my sincerest appreciation and gratitude to all the health workers of the UAE. They stand in the front line of our defences, we owe them a great debt, and we will never forget their service."

"Our traditions are very dear to us, but we must be practical during these times. I ask every Emirati and resident to do what is necessary, and let's not allow our traditions to become a source of harm to our families and society.Take care of your mothers and fathers and families," he added.