UAE says “alarming increase” in number of Covid-19 cases

The UAE reported 365 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, August 18, taking the overall number of cases in the country to 64,906.

Officials confirmed that the number of laboratory tests to screen for the Covid-19 virus has crossed six million.

It also reported 115 new recoveries. Consequently, 57,909 people have now recovered from the virus.

The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) recorded two Covid-19 related fatalities as well. The total number of deaths has risen to 366.

Dr. Al Hammadi: Unfortunately, we have seen recently an alarming increase in the number of daily cases, compared to previous weeks. A daily increase of around 136 cases among both citizens and residents has been recorded. #UAEGov

— UAEGov (@uaegov) August 18, 2020

The number of patients currently being treated stands at 6,631.

Abdul Rahman bin Mohammad bin Nasser Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention, said on Tuesday that during the past two weeks there has been a noticeable increase in daily infection rates. This may be an indicator of an alarming increase in the number of cases in the coming period, reported news agency WAM.

Dr Omar Al Hammadi, official spokesman for the UAE Government, attributed this rise in infections to people attending gatherings and visiting others without following precautionary and preventive measures such as physical distancing and wearing of masks.

He urged all citizens and residents to commit to the government’s precautionary guidelines to prevent the transmission of the virus.

آخر الإحصائيات حول إصابات فيروس كوفيد 19 في الإمارات

The latest update of Coronavirus (Covid 19) in the UAE#نلتزم_لننتصر #التزامك_حياتك#ملتزمون_يا_وطن#فيروس_كورونا_المستجد #كوفيد19#وزارة_الصحة_ووقاية_المجتمع_الإمارات#coronavirus#covid19#mohap_uae pic.twitter.com/UqEF6pBI2Z

— وزارة الصحة ووقاية المجتمع الإماراتية – MOHAP UAE (@mohapuae) August 18, 2020

With regards to attending gyms, he said that people should maintain physical distancing, wear masks and sanitise their hands before and after using the equipment.

Al Hammadi also warned against using products touted as treatments for Covid-19 without any scientific basis for those assertions. For example, a product that releases chlorine dioxide gas, wrongly claims to eliminate the virus before it enters the human body. He said that not only are products like these unable to provide protection against the virus, but that in the case of chlorine dioxide, it can cause lung, kidney and heart problems.

As for the ongoing Phase III clinical trials for a potential Covid-19 vaccine in the UAE, Al Owais said that the results are very reassuring, with no side effects recorded among the volunteers.