According to Deep Knowledge’s COVID-19 Safety Assessment research, UAE ranked 11th and Saudi Arabia ranked 17th, which makes them stand in the Tier-1 category of 20 countries that stood firm during the pandemic situation.

The research is substantial and concrete which is based on 130 parameters, and is compiled into a 250-pages book.

“COVID-19 Safety Ranking” of the research shows Switzerland, Germany, Israel, Singapore, and Japan as the top five safest countries.

COVID-19 Regional Resiliency

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stood number one, while UAE stood at third position in the list of regional resiliency ranking, which is based on a country’s demography, geopolitical stability, and societal discipline. It shows a country’s capacity to adapt and thrive under adverse conditions.

Emergency Preparedness Index

In terms of emergency preparedness index, Saudi Arabia stood seventh while UAE stood second after China. The index considers a country’s ability to deal with emergency situations with military mobilization experience and the level of societal emergency resilience that includes the level of preparedness dealing with psychological, cultural and religious practices and attitudes.

Monitoring and Detection Index

Saudi Arabia stood at 19th position while UAE stood third in the monitoring and detection index, which shows a country’s efficiency in testing coronavirus and keeping the data transparent.

However, Iran stood at 100th position due to the international skepticism it drew for hiding the official coronavirus numbers.

Measures taken by Saudi Arabia and UAE

According to Al-Arabiya report, Saudi Arabia has so far conducted over 1 million tests for coronavirus and has reported 161,005 cases in its population of approximately 33 million.

Saudi Arabia was one of the first countries in the middle-east region to close its borders as soon as the reports of coronavirus outbreak started. The major Umrah pilgrimage has been suspended since 27th February, and pilgrims are stopped from entering the two holy cities of Makkah and Madina.

In the last week of May, the Saudi Health Ministry announced that Kingdom would begin a new phase of its strategy to contain the spread of the coronavirus, and the authorities will build a healthcare system to deal with critical cases, which will have more testing and early detection.

On the other hand, UAE has conducted over three million coronavirus tests, the highest globally in terms of COVID-19 screening per capita, according UAE Health Ministry.

UAE Health authorities developed an app called TraceCovid to help trace the people who got into close proximity with the coronavirus patients. Apart from that, smart wristbands have also be introduced to track and monitor the coronavirus patients who may need self-isolation.

Lt General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Deputy Chairman of Police and Public Security in Dubai, said the national agenda index in 2018 was positive in all security and safety levels, which put the UAE on top in many fields.

“The survey showed that 96.1 per cent of people feel safe and secure in the country,” said Lt Gen Tamim during a press conference to announce results at the Intercontinental Hotel in Dubai Festival City on Sunday. “We are first and Singapore came second with 94 per cent. The UAE’s policies and strategies were behind the achievement to make the country the safest in the world,” he added.

Major General Dr Abdul Quddus Abdul Razzaq Al Obaidly, Assistant Commander-in-Chief for Quality and Excellence, said, “Our leaders have urged us to enhance people’s feeling of safety. Despite the sense of a drop in safety across the world, the UAE has become a safety oasis. Many security initiatives and projects helped to achieve this.”

Major-General Shaikh Sultan Bin Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Commander-in-Chief of Ajman Police, said the average response times to emergencies put the UAE second after New York City.

He mentioned that GPS in the response system of patrol cars has facilitated them to get to the scene of incidents and accidents faster than before.

Major General Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, head of the Federal Traffic Council, said road deaths were also on the decline with 3.83 deaths per 100,000 people in the UAE last year compared to 4.53 deaths per 100,000 people in 2017.

“There is a 71 per cent drop since 2008 when it was 13.5 deaths per 100,000 people,” said Maj Gen Al Zafein. “This is a huge drop despite many challenges. We united all our efforts to reduce the number of deaths on the roads.

“All traffic campaigns are now unified across all UAE traffic departments,” he added.

Meanwhile, Brigadier Hamad Ajlan Al Amimi, Director General of the Federal Criminal Police at the Ministry of Interior, said the crime rate had also reduced in the UAE with the country lowest on the list in relation to kidnapping and murders.

“The indicator for serious crime was 49.5 per cent last year compared to 67.69 in 2017,” said Brig Al Amimi. “The UAE also came first in the lowest rate of crimes related to murders with 0.7 per cent and kidnapping with 0.8 per cent. We were even the lowest in the world in relation to rape crimes with 1.2 per cent,” he added.