Dubai:The Dubai COVID-19 Command and Control Centre (CCC) has collaborated with Smart Dubai to develop an innovative digital dashboard to monitor and predict the spread of COVID-19 in Dubai. The dashboard, which supports the Centre’s strategy to fight the pandemic in Dubai, is
based on accurate and consistently updated real-time data to help facilitate effective
containment measures.

Dr. Amer Sharif, Head of Dubai’s COVID-19 Command and Control Centre (CCC) said:
“With the guidance of our leadership and the concerted efforts of the government and
private sector, we were able to build a database filled with accurate information about
the frequency of the spread of the virus in Dubai. This platform is crucial in supporting
the decision-making process to effectively confront the spread of the virus based on
available information and up-to-date data on the actual spread of the pandemic in
Dubai, and the state of the healthcare system in the city.”

He added: "We wanted to implement the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin
Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai,
reflected in his statement that "creating the future is not just improvised decisions, but
rather strategic plans based on knowledge, and clear goals based on accurate statistics
and real data." This is how we work at Dubai’s COVID-19 Command and Control
Centre. Every step is calculated based on data.”

“Over the past years and through the Dubai Data and Smart Dubai, we have been able
to establish a data experience that is one of the most comprehensive and innovative
globally. The COVID-19 pandemic was a real test to our capabilities when it comes to
data, and therefore we employed the available infrastructure to find the best ways to
support decision-making processes to control this pandemic. We wanted to provide the
decision makers in Dubai with live data that allows them to follow the latest
developments and updated measures to ensure the health and safety of citizens and
residents," said Younus Al Nasser, CEO of Dubai Data, an initiative of Smart Dubai, and
Leader of the Technology and Data team at the COVID-19 Command and Control
Centre.

He added: "The dashboard plays an important role in the gradual reopening of various

industries in Dubai, so the dashboard data will allow us to support decisions for the safe
return of business activities and daily life in the coming period.”
Developed through a well-known epidemiology equation known as SEIR (Susceptible
Exposed Infected Resistant), the dashboard helps in processing and analysing the data,
and provides perceptions and predictions on COVID-19 developments. The
Government of Dubai has been investing in smart infrastructure and information
technology systems over the past two decades, which today are enabling us to develop
analytical models to study phenomena in different fields. This specific dashboard was
designed in a way that provides an analytical visualisation of the data as it includes
detailed data to know the current situation, in addition to predicting the desired situation
to control the spread of the virus in the community.
The dashboard was the result of a close collaboration between the COVID-19
Command and Control Centre (CCC), Smart Dubai, and the Mohammed Bin Rashid
University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU).

The dashboard collates and monitors crucial information on total number of infections
by type – asymptomatic, mildly symptomatic, moderately symptomatic, and severely
symptomatic – cumulative numbers of infections, recoveries, and critical cases across
Dubai.

It utilises a variety of factors including demographics displaying per capita infections,
geographical distribution of infections across Dubai, and cases in isolation facilities,
along with logistical information such as the number of facilities and medical supplies
available at each.

In collaboration with Smart Dubai and its data scientists, the dashboard was linked with
the Dubai Health Authority’s Hasana Program, a public health system that monitors and
manages infectious diseases and epidemics, by connecting government and private
healthcare sectors in Dubai, and their partners, using a unified system for managing
diseases and outbreaks. This system enables users to review results to support
decision making, and can send electronic notifications on the availability of laboratory
results and disease status.