Watch: Helicopter flies over Abu Dhabi with ‘stay home’ message

A helicopter operated by Abu Dhabi Aviation took to the skies on Sunday with a banner urging residents of the emirate to stay at home and maintain social distancing.

The banner states the message “Dedication at work and safety at home” in Arabic and English.

The campaign will also be carried out in other emirates across the UAE in the coming days, official news agency WAM reported.

"طيران أبوظبي" تحلق في سماء #الإمارات برسائل توعوية للوقاية من "#كورونا"#وام https://t.co/QfZvLcVomf pic.twitter.com/ebwteMzUUY

— وكالة أنباء الإمارات (@wamnews) April 12, 2020

The initiative is part of efforts to support the UAE’s ongoing measures to combat Covid-19, the report added.

The UAE is carrying out its national disinfection programme daily from 8pm at night until 6am the following morning, with restricted movement allowed during the period.

Everyone is urged to stay home unless it is “absolutely necessary to obtain essential food supplies or medicine or perform essential jobs in vital sectors”, officials said.

The list of vital sectors include energy, communication, health, education, security, and the police, along with the military, and the postal, freight, pharmaceutical, water, food, civil aviation, airport, passport, finance and banking, and government media sectors, and the services sector, which includes gas stations and construction projects.

However, in Dubai, the programme is underway for 24 hours, with people also requiring permits to go to the clinic or for grocery shopping.

Officials have confirmed that the programme will be subject to “periodic assessment”.

The UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) reported 387 new Covid-19 cases on April 12, taking the total number of patients infected with the virus up to 4,123.

It also reported two deaths, raising the total number of fatalities to 22. Both victims were Asians and were suffering from chronic diseases.

Read: UAE reports 387 new Covid-19 cases, DHA to begin blood plasma treatments this week