In a special presentation at the International Government Communication Forum (IGCF 2020) in Sharjah on Thursday morning, His Excellency Saif Mohammed Arhama Al Shamsi, Deputy Director-General of the National Emergency and Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA) said that during a crisis or critical event, such as the Coronavirus outbreak, it was important to communicate clearly and calmly while countering false information and panic.

Al Shamsi said that if it was deemed necessary, new laws could come in to place to protect the UAE’s citizens and residents from coronavirus (COVID-19), which has affected over 90,000 people worldwide. “It may be necessary, for example, for people to work from home for a time and we may need to bring this in to law. It wouldn’t necessarily effect all companies,” he said, “but it would effect some.”

He added, “We don’t want to think about Coronavirus but this is a good example to demonstrate how we communicate in a crisis. Firstly, we monitor and assess the situation. Within days, we were monitoring the situation minute by minute. This is clearly not just a problem for us but for every country. Each country is working on how to communicate critical information at this time regarding citizens’ safety. This is an international matter and every country is dealing with it, responding appropriately and working on keeping their societies secure.”

Al Shamsi added: “We also ensure that our message is cohesive, so each ministry and agency are not giving differing information. The Minister of Health has declared we must have transparency in our communication about this crisis and to that I would add credibility too. We must avoid rumour and scaremongering. We will work with facts, and take it step by step, working with other agencies.”

The 9th edition of the IGCF 2020 concludes today (Thursday).