UAE officials encourage public to join COVID-19 tracing app Alhosn

Health officials in the United Arab Emirates have launched a nationwide campaign to encourage citizens and residents to download and begin using the country’s official COVID-19 testing and contact tracing app Alhosn.

The Alhosn app was launched late last month jointly by the UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention, Abu Dhabi Health Authority, and Dubai Health Authority.

“While hundreds of thousands of people in the UAE are already shielding themselves from COVID-19 with Alhosn, [the ministry] hopes the campaign will encourage every citizen and resident to use Alhosn, as the app relies on a high number of subscribers to ensure effectiveness,” the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention said in a statement.

The campaign urging people to join the COVID-19 tracing app comes as the UAE announced it had detected 941 new coronavirus cases, raising the number of confirmed infections to 26,004. Six people also died from the virus on Wednesday, bringing the death toll from coronavirus in the UAE to 233 so far.

“The app helps us protect ourselves by making it easier and faster for health authorities to notify us if we come in to contact with someone who has COVID-19. It also helps us protect our loved ones as the earlier we are notified then the more effectively we can protect those around us. And, finally, it protects our community by facilitating contact tracing on a national level, containing the spread of COVID-19 faster,” Dr. Farida Al Hosani, official spokesperson for the UAE health sector, said during the daily press briefing.

“Alhosn is our fast-track ticket to curb the spread and our protective shield against any future pandemics,” she added.