Dubai State Security plays a vital role in curbing the spread of COVID-19

Gulf News Report

The COVID-19 pandemic took the world by surprise, and administrative authorities the world over had to adapt to the ever-changing situation and find a new way of functioning. The State Security of Dubai has always dealt with issues effectively and plays a key role in making the emirate the safest city in the world.

Lieutenant General Talal Humaid Belhoul, Director General of the State Security of Dubai, told Gulf News: “We take pride that citizens, residents and tourists can live and enjoy the many facets and attractions of this emirate in complete security. This itself is a huge statement in today’s modern world.

“When the first few cases were detected, our visionary leadership reacted quickly to this new situation. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said: ‘It is everybody’s responsibility.’ “We then realised what we had to do and what our goals were. From maintaining the security of society, we had to expand our role further to help in health care.”

He went on to explain the daily efforts that were put in, including updated “reports about the overall situation and public opinion.” This was vital information necessary to ensure the community’s sense of well-being. “Every day, we transferred the information related to infected cases to the health care authorities, worked closely with charity organisations, volunteers and other forces to help in various areas of the city.”

Their role in supporting health care extended further. He said: “We also worked with several authorities to bring more staff, including doctors and nurses, urgent medical equipment such as ventilators...the concerted efforts were to spread a sense of calm with positive messages to calm society regarding food security, availability of medicines and medical equipment, especially as the world struggled with these critical issues.”

Daily field visits

Lieutenant General Belhoul explained that their constant efforts were to “coordinate at the national level, so the efforts were unified. We were part of the Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management in Dubai, we had members in the Executive Committee and Technical Committee, and we had daily field visits for continued exchange of information and constant communication.” It was a tough task to keep a finger on the pulse of the community at all times, especially as movement restrictions and quarantine rules came into effect. But, Lieutenant General Belhoul emphasised how his teams and he soldiered on with just one focus in mind: the people, the city and the country had to be protected and kept safe from this COVID-19 enemy that was threatening to cripple the world.

“We in the State Security across all ranks, aligned ourselves with all government departments in Dubai to ensure that people were safe and secure at all times. This was a challenging task given that the situation was entirely new but we drew inspiration from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed’s message that it is everyone’s responsibility. We rose to the occasion and ensured there was security and calm across Dubai. It is because of all these tireless efforts that the emirate opened up in record time.”