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

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.

The comprehensive 6-week screening and testing campaign in the Musaffah area of Abu Dhabi has been successfully completed, fully containing the spread of COVID-19 among the area's residents. pic.twitter.com/gfXeXkFfv0

— مكتب أبوظبي الإعلامي (@admediaoffice) June 23, 2020

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.”

Inside a UAE facility for Covid-19 patients