'Stop spread of Germans' image clearly manipulated, Abu Dhabi officials say

Public hospital group Seha said social media pranksters had no one fooled

Seha shared the manipulated image on Twitter, saying it had nothing to do with the stunt. Twitter 

A sign outside a vaccine tent that urged people to "stop the spread of germans" was quite clearly manipulated, and not very convincingly at that, Abu Dhabi health officials said.

Seha, the capital's public hospital operator, stepped in as the image was circulated on Twitter on Tuesday.

The image was changed from "stop the spread of germs", which the public are urged to do by wearing masks and taking precautions inside testing and vaccine centres.

“The following image that has been circulating around social media is photoshopped,” Seha said in a tweet, referring to the photo software.

“Although we appreciate a good joke, Seha would like to clarify that it is in no way associated with this image, its message, or its distribution.

“We love Germans just as much as we love all people.”

Even the German ambassador to the UAE got in on the joke.

"We had a good laugh about this," said Peter Fischer. "But since we appreciate Seha so much - especially for keeping us safe during Covid-19 - we knew this must be a joke," he said.

Seha runs 24 drive-through testing centres nationwide.

There are dozens of drive-through centres across Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and several in the Northern Emirates.

The test is free for those showing coronavirus symptoms, Emiratis, residents over 50, people suffering from chronic diseases, pregnant women, and people with disabilities.

To everyone else, it costs Dh85.

The group also operates a network of vaccination centres, which can each inoculate thousands of people a day against the virus that causes Covid-19.

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