While following the progress of the pandemic here, I have also kept an eye on the situation in the UK, my country of origin, and in the British Channel Island of Jersey, my other home.
The three countries are very different in terms of size. The UK population is around 68 million and the UAE is somewhere around 9.8 million, while Jersey has a mere 105,000 inhabitants. Government systems differ, too. In the UK, the administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have major roles to play in terms of introducing Covid-related restrictions, with the government in London being in full control only in England. Here in the UAE, many decisions are taken by the federal government but others can be introduced at an emirate level. In Jersey, roughly the size of Abu Dhabi island, all decisions are taken by the government.