How Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed’s ‘Don’t worry’ became UAE’s motto in its Covid fight

How Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed’s ‘Don’t worry’ became UAE’s motto in its Covid fight

In early 2020, the pandemic forced the closure of schools, offices and malls, and stay home orders were issued across the UAE. As flights were grounded and airports shut, Sheikh Mohamed set out to reassure residents that the country was fully prepared to fight the virus.

That’s when he said: “Don’t worry.”

Such was the impact of the words that the UAE Central Bank chief said they “encouraged officials to take bold steps and make quick, sharp decisions to contain the crisis”.

Mental health campaign

The pandemic took a toll on the mental wellbeing of residents. To address this, a campaign, aptly titled ‘Don’t worry’, was launched to support the community.

At the time of its launch, an official explained that the “profound” phrase “reassures everyone that everything will be fine”.

Over 50 specialists, psychologists and social workers voluntarily took part in the national campaign.

Abu Dhabi cop beat Covid and returned to frontlines

The phrase helped a top Abu Dhabi Police officer recover from Covid-19 and return to the frontline in the war against the pandemic. In December 2020, Colonel Mohammed Al Khoury, who was a deputy at the Capital Police Department, said: “I am the head of a family and worry about them more than I