Coronavirus, UAE: Department of Health-Abu Dhabi uses Instagram to help fight COVID-19

Dubai: The UAE is trying to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country by educating people about the pandemic. And one of the tools they are using to do this - Instagram.

Online users, who open their Instagram application today, will see an alert on their Instagram feed from the Department of Health-Abu Dhabi. The alert allows users to “see the latest information from the Department of Health” by clicking a button that takes the user to the government website, doh.gov.ae.

The government website displays the number of current coronavirus cases, recoveries and deaths in the UAE, with the help of a global map. If users have questions or concerns about the pandemic, they can chat with a “smart assistant” through the website.

The aim is to educate people about the problem, so that they can “help prevent the spread of COVID-19”, as stated in the alert.

The Department of Health’s official Instagram account @dohsocial, has displayed a link in their bio, which takes the user directly to the live-number count

Instagram users can move around the interactive map to see the countries most affected by the virus.

According to the government website, the UAE has reported 2,076 confirmed cases in the country. There are 1,898 active cases and 167 recoveries.

Worldwide, there are 1,350,806 total confirmed cases, 74,867 deaths and 285,437 recoveries, as of April 7, 2020.