Coronavirus: UAE reports 229 Covid-19 cases, 100 recoveries, no deaths

Dubai - Nearly six million Covid-19 tests have been carried out in the country so far.

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention on Monday reported 229 cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus, along with 100 recoveries. No deaths were reported.
More than 71,000 new Covid-19 tests have been carried out in the country, taking the total to nearly six million tests.

In a development late last night, the short-term amnesty for people who have been living illegally in the UAE, after their visas expired before March 1, has been extended for a period of three months, authorities announced.

State news agency WAM has quoted Major General Saeed Rakan Al Rashidi, Director General of the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (FAIC) saying that the scheme, which began on May 18, and was to end on August 18, will now run until November 17.

All overstay fines will also be waived, provided the violators were leaving the country.

The FAIC said the extension of the amnesty period is among a series of generous national initiatives by UAE leaders, through which they have prioritised the concern for humanity amidst the current challenges of Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, parents have been given the option to choose in-person or remote learning for their children when schools reopen across the UAE in the new academic year. In a statement, the Ministry of Education (MoE) said on Sunday that classes will resume on August 30. Campus learning will be implemented in line with the "highest standards of health and safety in the school environment". "According to the latest developments and based on the current health conditions, careful plans have been made to ensure a gradual return to (in-person learning) ... in all UAE schools without exception," said the MoE. "Parents have been allowed to freely choose their children's model of attendance - face-to-face at school or through distance learning for the first term."