Coronavirus: UAE reports 1,398 Covid-19 cases, 1,666 recoveries, 2 deaths

Dubai - More than 11.33 million Covid-19 tests have been carried out in the UAE so far.

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention on Thursday reported 1,398 cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus, along with 1,666 recoveries. Two deaths were also reported.

As many as 114,147 new Covid-19 tests were carried out, taking the total tests to over 11.33 million so far.

Doctors have appealed to residents to not lower their guards as the UAE on Wednesday reported 1,431 new Covid-19 cases - its highest ever until that day. Referring to how residents have started becoming complacent, Dr Abhilash Ramachandran Nair, an internal medicine specialist at Aster Hospital, Qusais, said: "When people go to restaurants, many take off their masks while waiting for their food to arrive. Arriving at dining outlets almost becomes an excuse for people to lower their masks and start talking." He explained that the risk of infection is high, particularly in closed spaces.

Meanwhile, it was revealed yesterday that sniffer dogs could soon be used to detect Covid-19 cases among travellers at the Sharjah International Airport. The police have trialled the initiative by deploying some K9 dogs at the airports with "great success", according to a top officer. Lieutenant-Colonel Dr Ahmed Adel Al Maamari, Head of the K9 Security Inspection Department, Sharjah Police, said the dogs were trained to sniff out cases after they were made to smell test samples in a "special room designated for this purpose". The officer said K9 dogs are currently used to secure sea, air and land ports. The unit has 80 dogs and 32 trainers. "The dogs can swiftly locate drugs as their sense of smell is 50 times sharper than that of humans. They can help in locating missing people, drugs, fugitives, explosives, stolen items, and also search for bodies in cases of disasters."