The Dubai Police recently warned the public against spreading unverified information about coronavirus disease (COVID-19) online, noting that—once proven—they will face “severe punishment.”
During the Community Forum on Cybercrime and Emergency Preparedness, Dubai Police spokesperson Lt. Khalid Mohammed Banasser said that disseminating misinformation about the virus is considered a threat to national security and that such action will be treated with the full extent of the law.
“Any information that can demean the name and security of the country is very dangerous; the punishment is very high. It is a national security threat,” he said in an interview.
The Ministry of Interior has recently announced that violators will face up to three years of jail time and a fine that can reach up to Dhs3 million.
The spokesperson added that all information about COVID-19 will only be channeled from the UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) to various embassies and consulates. The only data that must be considered are the ones that will come from these verified government authorities, he said.
Philippine Consul General Paul Raymond Cortes also encouraged Filipinos to refrain from spreading unofficial information, as this can only instill doubt and fear in the community.
This came at a time when the UAE’s Department of Health – Abu Dhabi dismissed as “untrue” the news alleging that a coronavirus case has been discovered in a residential compound in Abu Dhabi today.
“The Ministry of Health and Prevention is the official source of information on COVID-19 in the UAE,” DoH – Abu Dhabi said in a statement tonight, affirming that MoHaP is adhering to all transparency standards in revealing the number of coronavirus cases in the country. The department urged the public to rely only on official sources when dealing with all news related to the virus.
