How teamwork helped manage COVID-19 in Dubai

Suchitra Bajpai Chaudhary | Chief Reporter

How do you manage a pandemic? There’s no easy answer. The world faced the last pandemic 100 years ago. So there’s no experience to fall back on or to use as a reference point. It was a leap into the unknown. That makes the work of Dubai’s COVID-19 Command and Control Centre commendable.

The nerve centre in Dubai’s fight against the new coronavirus brought together all government departments, which made coordination easier and faster. There’s no time to waste when tackling a fast-spreading pathogen, and the Command and Control Centre helped speed up remedial action.

In an exclusive interview, Dr Amer Sharif, who heads the Centre, told Gulf News how the multi-pronged operation worked round-the-clock to keep Dubai safe and healthy throughout the pandemic.

“It [the Centre] brought together the private and public sector in health care, set the policies and procedures to contain the pandemic and ensure there were enough resources to manage the functions,” Dr Sharif said.

The Centre’s success stemmed from the structures and systems put in place for every aspect of the pandemic. “The Centre had different teams such as a science team, a data team, health care capacity team, a media, supply and logistics team and an operations team who were responsible for that particular aspect. All sectors were represented in these teams, which helped increase the speed and agility of decision-making processes by the Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management in Dubai, chaired by Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum,” Dr Sharif said, explaining the process.

The committee has the representation of the country’s leadership, which was accessible and very supportive, and that was a huge help, he added.

A typical day in the operation of CCC

One of the main challenges for the Command and Control Centre was to keep track of the fast-changing situation. “Each day at the Centre was different, and each decision was taken after careful deliberation,” Dr Sharif said, providing a glimpse into the operations.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, it was a 24x7 job. The health care capacity team reported daily on the plans to manage the COVID-19 patients across different facilities. The operations team would help move patients for institutional isolation or prepare home isolation. The policies team focused on managing the cases and opening the activities in the emirate. We also aligned our decisions with the directives of the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) and the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP),” Dr Sharif elaborated.

To illustrate the point, he said: “If we had to decide on health care capacities such as availability of beds or a decision that required us to align with international protocols, it was evidence-based and presented to the Supreme Committee to take a decision.”

Besides the centralised decision-making, an intuitive understanding and cooperation between stakeholders ensured effective implementation of decisions. “Every government department took responsibility and worked in tandem with other stakeholders such as the private sector partners and the community. There were Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to ensure compliance, and if there was a violation of enforcement, penalties were imposed.”

Biggest satisfaction

Sharif pointed out the biggest morale booster was the complete support the teams received from the government. “I think the biggest satisfaction was the priority our leadership gave to ensuring the health and safety of the people. From the beginning, our government said the pandemic was everyone’s responsibility, and everyone was responsible for everyone. There were specific messages from the Rulers assuring us. Such assurances helped strike a balance between health and wellness of the people, ensuring the continuation of life and social and economic well-being of the people. The gratitude, cooperation and appreciation from the community too have been unforgettable,” Dr Sharif said.