Coronavirus: UAE reports 1,378 Covid-19 cases, 1,275 recoveries, 2 deaths

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention on Tuesday reported 1,378 cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus, along with 1,275 recoveries and 2 deaths.

Over 173.5 million PCR tests have been conducted in the country so far.

The UAE passport has been ranked as the 15th most powerful in the world with a visa-free or visa-on-arrival score of 176, according to the latest ranking released by Henley & Partners, a global investment migration consultancy.

It remains the strongest in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region and even in the wider Arab world.

Declaring the UAE a pandemic winner, the research report said the UAE has made unprecedented achievements as it emerged as the biggest gainer on the index.

“Throughout the turmoil of the past two years, one thing has remained constant: the growing strength of the UAE passport, which now sits at 15th place on the ranking, with a visa-free or visa-on-arrival score of 176. Over the past decade, the country has made unparalleled gains as the biggest climber on the index — in 2012, it sat at 64th place on the rankings, with a score of just 106,” the report said.

It revealed that the UAE has also become the focus of intense interest among affluent investors (HNWIs) and high-net-worth individuals. The emirate is expected to see the highest net influx of HNWIs globally in 2022, with a forecast net increase of 4,000, a massive increase of 208 per cent versus 2019’s net inflow of 1,300 and one of its largest on record.

Interestingly, the Global Passport Index released by Arton Capital last year ranked the UAE first globally for achieving the highest mobility score.

Meanwhile, Indian filmmaker Mani Ratnam has been admitted to Apollo hospital in Chennai after testing positive for Covid-19.

His family has not shared details of his health yet. The director is currently working on post-production of his upcoming film, Ponniyin Selvan. He was recently seen at the teaser launch of the film, on July 8.

Ratnam's latest work, Ponniyin Selvan, will be soon released in two parts. The first part will release on September 30. AR Rahman has scored the tunes for this period film based on the Chola dynasty.