Abu Dhabi’s response to Covid-19 and the efficiency of its protocols to deal with the deadly virus has once again led to its recognition as the world’s top pandemic-resilient city by Deep Knowledge Analytics (DKA).
DKA is a London-based DeepTech analytical subsidiary of Deep Knowledge Group (DKG).
Abu Dhabi retained its position from a similar report published in the first half of 2021, where it was also ranked as the leading city in response to Covid-19 globally. Since then, an additional 28 cities have been examined and added to the ranking, which now assesses a total of 100 cities.
The Pandemic-Resilient Cities Ranking evaluates the continued progress of key cities and presents additional policy recommendations to rectify major shortcomings. The report is based on six parameters that city governments have been focusing on to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and demonstrate resilience and readiness for similar public health issues in the future.
Abu Dhabi scored 59.87 in government efficiency, 49.57 in economic resilience, 65.39 in healthcare management, 80.37 in quarantine measures, 87.21 in vaccination strategy and rate and 71.71 in cultural compliance. That gave it a sum total of 414.12 points.
Singapore was named second with 407.69 points, while Korean capital Seoul was third with 396.66 points. Dubai ranked 15th in the 100-city index.
In the report, DKA said: “Abu Dhabi takes the lead among the Top 50 cities in the Pandemic-Resilient Cities Ranking 2022. The city has been an exemplary case of efficient vaccination strategies, combined with effective contact tracing apps to prevent the spread of the virus.
“The economy rescue package is minimal since the city’s economy has high levels of liquidity and capital buffers that would protect its economy and mitigate the effects of the pandemic. Abu Dhabi responded promptly to a new reality of online business by providing remote working guidelines, virtual labour markets, a national campaign for mental health support, and 24/7 online government services.”
The emirate achieved a Covid-19 testing capacity of over 500,000 tests per day and established 27 drive-through testing and vaccination centres across the emirate with nearly 100 percent of the community receiving the Covid-19 vaccination.
Additionally, Abu Dhabi succeeded in increasing the healthcare capacity by 200 percent pertaining to the number of patient beds at hospitals as well as the increasing number of intensive care beds by 300 percent. All of this supported by an agile, data-driven, science-based and world-leading policies and intervention that resulted in one of the lowest mortality rate and infection per capita rate globally.
Abu Dhabi’s efforts to provide the latest innovative treatments to preserve the health and safety of the community were also noted in the report. The Department of Health signed strategic agreements with major international pharmaceutical companies to provide the latest treatments to patients with wide-ranging symptoms and immunocompromised patients who cannot receive vaccinations.
Abu Dhabi received the first global shipment of AstraZeneca’s Evusheld, which generates antibodies for immunocompromised patients. It signed a strategic partnership with Roche, the world’s largest biotech company, to adopt its casirivimab and imdevimab for the prevention and treatment of mild to moderate symptoms of Covid-19 patients.
Abu Dhabi also continues to play a leading role in the global efforts to combat the pandemic through its participation in clinical trials for Covid-19 vaccines and therapeutic innovations. It was able to successfully leverage its prime geographical location and advanced healthcare infrastructure to establish the unique pharma corridor, HOPE Consortium.
The Abu Dhabi-led public-private partnership helped lead the global effort against the pandemic by delivering over 260 million vaccine doses to over 60 nations around the world. DKA is a leading provider of advanced analytics on DeepTech and frontier-technology industries.
The company utilises sophisticated multidimensional frameworks and algorithmic methods that combine hundreds of specially designed and specifically weighted metrics and parameters to deliver insightful market intelligence, pragmatic forecasting and tangible industry benchmarking.
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