UAE's daily Covid-19 cases dip below 100 for first time in 565 days

Dubai - The last time the country registered infections below the 100-mark was way back on March 31

Sahim Salim

Published: Mon 18 Oct 2021, 3:30 AM

Last updated: Mon 18 Oct 2021, 7:04 AM

The UAE is winning its battle against Covid-19.

On Sunday, October 17, the country achieved the most encouraging sign of its victory when daily cases dipped below the 100-mark. This is the first time in 19 months that this has happened.

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Daily cases went over 100 for the first time on March 29, 2020. The last time the country registered infections below the 100-mark was on March 31, 2020, when 53 cases were reported. Since then, the number of infections has soared and decreased but never dipped below the 100-mark.

Of the 317,254 PCR tests conducted in the 24 hours that led to today, just 99 had the virus with a positivity rate of 0.031 per cent.

The highest number of cases in a single day was 3,966 on January 28 — with a positivity rate of 2.34 per cent.

Pandemic becomes endemic

With over 95 per cent of residents receiving at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, and over 85 per cent fully vaccinated, the country has reached an ‘endemic’ stage. The country is now very close to achieving herd immunity against the coronavirus.

A disease is considered an ‘endemic’ when it remains constantly maintained at a baseline level and is predictable and manageable, a doctor had told Khaleej Times on Monday.

Restoring normalcy

The UAE leaders had earlier highlighted how the crisis is now over. At the peak of Covid, the country had shut its borders; closed down schools, offices and markets; and imposed movement restrictions.

All of them gradually reopened, with students now back in classrooms at almost 100 per cent capacity. Residents are travelling once again as jobs and the economy stabilises.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai had recently said that the worst of the Covid crisis is over.

“The UAE worked as one team during the pandemic, making the country among the best globally in the fight against Covid-19,” he had tweeted in August after chairing a UAE Cabinet meeting.

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, had acknowledged the difficulties and challenges posed by the virus in the past few months.

“However, the UAE was one of the first countries to emerge from the crisis, at a time when some faced great difficulties," he said.

He had said that Covid is now under control and less dangerous than it was.

How UAE beat Covid

The UAE’s three-pronged approach helped it bring the situation under control. It made vaccines available free of charge across the country. Its jab drive is so successful that it’s the most vaccinated country globally.

It also continued its proactive testing strategy. Till date, the country has conducted close to 88 million tests.

It also constantly monitored and studied breakthrough treatment methods for the virus. It was among the first countries to approve the latest anti-viral treatment, Sotrovimab.

The UAE ranks among the top countries globally in addressing the pandemic.

In September, London-based analytics consortium Deep Knowledge Group (DKG) ranked Abu Dhabi as the safest city in the world for its swift response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Dubai bagged the fifth spot in the global ranking report.