Non-compliance at the root of steepest rise in new UAE Covid cases

Dubai - On Thursday, UAE reported the third-highest number of cases recorded since the start of the pandemic.

Do not be complacent. Do not lower your guard. Do not join crowds. Do not forget to mask up. That's the warning authorities sent out on Thursday after the UAE recorded 930 new Covid-19 cases, its highest daily caseload in the last four months.
Dr Farida Al Hosani, official spokeswoman for the UAE health sector, said cases have increased five times in a month when just 179 new cases were detected on August 10. Thursday also marked the third-highest number of cases recorded in the UAE since the start of the pandemic. Speaking at a virtual press briefing, Dr Hosani said: "On August 10, it was just 179 new cases; and in one month, we exceeded 900 new infections, five times the infection rate." Sixty-two per cent of patients are male and 38 per cent women.
Dr Hosani announced 586 new recoveries and five deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the total recovery and death count to 67,945 and 398, respectively. One of the main reasons for the sharp increase in daily cases is that people are not showing individual commitment and continue to join mass gatherings in restaurants and other public places, said Dr Farida. Following the spike in cases, the UAE government has made it very clear: "Compliance from individuals and institutions to safety precautions set by the government is mandatory."
The UAE also made it mandatory for any individual who comes in contact with a Covid-19 positive patient to undergo a 14-day quarantine, irrespective of a positive test during the initial point of contact.

"Everyone who gets into contact with an infected person must undergo the quarantine protocol. They should not rely on the negative test result that they might receive following the detection of the case as an excuse for them to return to their normal life. The incubation period for the virus may last up to 14 days, and only after a negative test result on the 14th day of contact can a person exit the quarantine period."

• Abu Dhabi
• Dubai