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Dubai: Expo 2020 Calls on Participants to Join its Vaccination Drive

The latest Expo 2020 Dubai Steering Committee meeting. WAM
The latest Expo 2020 Dubai Steering Committee meeting. WAM
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Dubai: Expo 2020 Calls on Participants to Join its Vaccination Drive

The latest Expo 2020 Dubai Steering Committee meeting. WAM
The latest Expo 2020 Dubai Steering Committee meeting. WAM

The Expo 2020 Dubai Steering Committee has urged all of Expo’s 200-plus participants to join Expo 2020’s vaccination drive, praising the decision of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, to offer free vaccinations to all official participants and their staff.

During its latest meeting, held on Thursday, the Steering Committee expressed appreciation for his offer and urged all official participants to take measures to ensure the safety of their staff and visitors.
The recommendation was made as the Committee, representing the 190-plus participating nations and comprising Commissioner Generals from 34 countries, discussed the robust measures being implemented at Expo 2020 to safeguard all participants, workforce, suppliers, contractors and visitors, reflecting the UAE’s wider efforts against the ongoing global pandemic.

Manuel Salchli, Chair of the Expo 2020 Steering Committee and Commissioner General for Switzerland at Expo 2020, said: "Health and safety is a pivotal part of the planning and operations for all World Expos and the ongoing global pandemic has put this more sharply into focus. It is very important that all official participants should benefit from the UAE’s generous offer to vaccinate their delegations and it is the collective responsibility of all the countries to support this initiative to ensure an enjoyable and safe Expo for all participants."

The Steering Committee met after the sixth and final International Participants Meeting (IPM), which took place earlier this week. The IPM saw more than 370 senior representatives from 173 countries gather in Dubai to discuss final preparations ahead of the mega-event’s opening on October 1, and experience first-hand the robust health and safety measures that have already been rolled out.

“Expo 2020 and the UAE have worked diligently to implement a far-reaching program of precautionary measures, in close collaboration with the relevant local authorities and following the guidance of the world’s leading medical experts. The UAE should be applauded for bringing 173 participating nations to Dubai for this important meeting, ensuring the safety and well-being of all attendees,” Salchli added.

Dmitri S Kerkentzes, Secretary General, Bureau International des Expositions, said: "More than any other crisis, COVID-19 has shown us that global challenges require an extraordinary common effort. With the UAE consistently demonstrating its commitment to health and global solidarity, we are confident that – through close partnership and determined cooperation – Expo 2020 Dubai will be an inspiring and enlightening event offering safe and meaningful experiences to each and every visitor.

"The successful and safe organization of the International Participants Meeting this week and the offer of vaccines to all staff and international participants reinforces this strong commitment from the host of the first World Expo in the MEASA region."

Clayton Kimpton, Commissioner General for New Zealand at Expo 2020, said: "Over the recent IPM, we have heard, and experienced first-hand, how Expo 2020 remains committed to delivering an exceptional – and above all, safe – Expo for everyone, and we commend the organizers and the country’s leadership for their exemplary efforts.

"From the installation of thermal cameras and sanitization stations across the site, to mandatory face-mask wearing and the implementation of social-distancing regulations, we have been reassured to see the measures that have been put in place and hear how they will continue to be monitored and adjusted, in line with the latest information and guidance from the World Health Organization."

Tony Joudi, Commissioner General for the Bahamas at Expo 2020, said: "We applaud Expo 2020 for their prudent and responsible approach to COVID-19 and the challenges it continues to present for us all. Just as the pandemic requires a unified response, so does the delivery of what we believe will be a truly historic World Expo, and we pledge our continued commitment and support."

At the beginning of the year, Expo 2020 launched an extensive COVID-19 vaccination drive for all Expo 2020 employees and their households. More widely, the UAE has overseen one of the world’s fastest vaccination programs, already administering more than 10 million doses since the program began a few months ago.

Dr Amer Sharif, Head of Dubai's COVID-19 Command and Control Centre (CCC), said: "Since the beginning of the pandemic, the UAE has followed a clear strategy in managing COVID-19. Dubai’s COVID-19 Command and Control Centre has, since its establishment, developed protocols, guidelines and precautionary measures that are science-based and data-driven. The guiding principle in managing the pandemic has always been to strike a balance between lives and livelihoods."

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Chinese Slimmers Trim Down at Weight-Loss Camps

Weight-loss camps have popped up across China as it grapples with a growing obesity crisis. Hector RETAMAL / AFP
Weight-loss camps have popped up across China as it grapples with a growing obesity crisis. Hector RETAMAL / AFP
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Chinese Slimmers Trim Down at Weight-Loss Camps

Weight-loss camps have popped up across China as it grapples with a growing obesity crisis. Hector RETAMAL / AFP
Weight-loss camps have popped up across China as it grapples with a growing obesity crisis. Hector RETAMAL / AFP

Yang Chi'ao takes her place next to gym equipment and waits to be called by an instructor at a weight-loss camp in China, where over half of adults are overweight.
Boasting strict daily exercise regimens, mandatory trips to the scale and rigid surveillance to guard against snacking, the facilities have popped up across China as it grapples with a growing obesity crisis, said AFP.
They have also sparked controversy -- last year an influencer died while attending a facility in northern China as part of efforts to shed more than 100 kilograms, local media said.
Yang, 23, quit her teaching job earlier this year and signed up for a weight-loss camp on the outskirts of southwestern megacity Chengdu, and since then has followed a rigorous regime of diet and exercise.
She was one of around 60 slimmers who turned out early to train, a large poster looming overhead extolling their goal: "Become thin! Become beautiful! Become refined!"
Among the activities at the Chengdu camp are long brisk walks -- with instructors keeping an eye on participants tempted to stop for snacks at roadside carts.
"There will definitely be people who secretly want to buy food," Yang told AFP, walking with a steady stride.
"I've had the idea but never succeeded because the coaches keep following me."
Yang said she had lost nearly 30 kilograms (66 pounds) since arriving in July at 114 kg.
And while some fellow participants struggled with the 10-kilometer hike, she said her "stamina has probably improved".
"I might have felt very tired a month or two earlier," she said.
Yang's parents pay around 3000 yuan ($421) a month for her stay at the camp, where she shares a room with three others.
She lives nearby but says that participants are not allowed to leave from Monday to Saturday -- unless under "special circumstances".
"No one sneaks out because there is surveillance everywhere, and if you get caught, you'll be punished," she said, with disciplinary measures including running for five kilometers or doing burpees.
Obesity challenge
The country has ranked obesity the sixth leading risk factor for death and disability and ramped up efforts to tackle the issue.
Beijing's National Health Commission has said that "the prevalence of overweight and obese people in China has continued to rise".
That has sparked a fitness craze -- exemplified by "YOLO", a film about an overweight woman who takes up boxing to regain her self-esteem, that topped China's box office during Lunar New Year this year.
Jia Ling, who directed the film and played the leading role, reportedly lost over 50 kilograms during filming, with her physical transformation going viral.
This upward trend may be linked to increased disposable income and higher spending on food, often high in calories and rich in oil, said Charles Poon, medical director at Raffles Hospital Beijing.
Additionally, many people are facing more demanding work environments.
"Jobs are getting more complicated... and so a lot of stress is involved," said Poon, adding that this could lead to hormonal imbalance and contribute to obesity.
In June, China launched a three-year campaign to address obesity, recommending actions such as reducing foods high in salt, sugar and fat in school canteens and encouraging employers to support staff fitness.
The country will also ensure that primary and middle school students engage in at least two hours of physical activities a day.
For camps like the one in Chengdu, experts warn of the risks.
Pan Wang, an associate professor in Chinese and Asian studies at the University of New South Wales in Australia, said the government should monitor and restrict workouts and diets which could be potentially dangerous.
"The beauty industry is booming... (and) the concept of 'thinness' has translated into a kind of social capital," Wang said.
"Businesses like weight-loss camps can profit from it."
'It takes time'
At another camp activity, music blared from speakers as participants threw punches and jabbed in a boxing routine, their faces dripping with sweat.
Trainer Chen Hang shouted instructions from a stage while demonstrating the moves.
"The reason they came to a weight loss training camp is because they can't control their diet outside... and they can't get themselves moving," Chen told AFP after the workout.
The number of people coming to the facility was "continuously increasing", he added.
Yang posts daily videos on Chinese social media apps Douyin and Xiaohongshu -- China's equivalent of TikTok and Instagram -- which she said helps keep her accountable.
"If I don't get up every day to shoot, I will have no content to post, and everyone will know I'm slacking off," said Yang, who plans to stay in the camp until at least the end of March next year.
One of her roommates, Zhao Yuyang, discovered her videos online and was inspired to join the camp.
The 30-year-old has lost more than five kilograms in the past month, but is in no rush to shed more weight.
"You can't become a fat man in one bite, so losing weight has to be done slowly," Zhao told AFP during an evening gym session.
"It takes time."