Coronavirus: Mussaffah cases 'fully contained' after landmark testing of 570,000 residents

Country’s biggest Covid-19 screening drive completed after six-week campaign by medics and police

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  Captain Mohammed Al Ahbabi directs a colleague during a sweep of the streets

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  A Civil Defence officer disinfects the streets of Mussaffah using a swivel-mounted high-pressure jet. All photos by Victor Besa / The National

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  The operation serves two purposes: ensuring traces of the virus, whether on vehicles and dropped masks or gloves, are sterilised, and physically keeping people at home

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  A police officer asks a resident, who is just out of shot, to go home

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  Every night for weeks vehicles have sprayed the country with chemicals that kill germs

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  Abu Dhabi Civil Defence personnel gather for a photo at the start of the night

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  Crews work all night to cover ground in some of the city's most densely populated areas

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  Captain Mohammed Al Ahbabi of Abu Dhabi Police speaks to a camera crew from Al Roeya, The National's Arabic-language sister newspaper

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  Civil Defence form the backbone of the street operations

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  A police officer in a white suit hands out a face mask and gloves to a resident who had none, just before the 8pm curfew begins

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  The country's leaders have praised public servants for their work around the clock to tackle the virus

Latest: On patrol with Abu Dhabi's door-to-door Covid-19 testing team

A massive testing programme in one of the country’s most densely populated areas is complete, the Abu Dhabi government said.

The six-week campaign in Mussaffah has “fully contained” the spread of Covid-19 after tests on 570,000 residents, it said.

In the door-to-door operation, 2,730 buildings were checked and 260 housing complexes disinfected.

One million free meals were handed out and 750,000 face masks were delivered.

The campaign was put in place after Mussaffah, home to hundreds of thousands of labourers and shop staff, was identified a potential area of significant infection should the virus spread.

This week, health officials in Abu Dhabi said the rate of the virus in people tested was below one in 100, a figure regarded as a milestone in the battle against Covid-19.

Last week, Dr Jamal Al Kaabi, acting undersecretary for Abu Dhabi’s Department of Health, said widespread testing would continue until the number of cases reached nil.

“Our target is to eventually eliminate the virus," Dr Al Kaabi said.

"We will take all the necessary actions to eradicate the virus and ensure that the emirate is free of Covid-19, even if it requires us to test the whole population to get a handle on it.”