Coronavirus: UAE reports 1,500 Covid-19 cases, 1,541 recoveries, no deaths

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention on Thursday reported 1,500 cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus, along with 1,541 recoveries and no deaths.

Total active cases stand at 17,554.

The new cases were detected through 241,098 additional tests.

The total number of cases in UAE on July 14 are 969,097, while total recoveries stand at 949,218. The death toll now stands at 2325.

Over 173.2 million PCR tests have been conducted in the country so far.

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Italy will soon start its campaign to administer a second Covid-19 booster to everyone aged over 60, the health minister said, after receiving a green light from European Union health agencies.

The European recommendation came amid a new rise in infections and hospitalisations across Europe and was expected to facilitate national decisions to speed up vaccination campaigns, which have been slowing in recent months.

Health Minister Roberto Speranza said the government had already given the go-ahead to Italy's 20 regional administrations to start the second booster campaign, after the approval of national medicine agency AIFA.

"All the scientific evidence ... shows that an extra dose of booster can greatly protect people, especially the frail and elderly, from hospitalisation," Speranza told state broadcaster Rai.

Italy saw coronavirus cases rise in July. The number of daily infections last week surpassed 100,000 for the first time since February and hospital admissions are also seen increasing.

Meanwhile, nurses and medical staff, the unsung heroes of the UAE’s Covid-19 fight, were surprised to find their two-year validity of Emirates ID was extended to 10 years. Receiving the prestigious Golden Visa has become an unforgettable and cherished moment of their lives. It was in November last year that a government directive was announced to grant Golden Visas to frontline workers and their families.

Rani Elsa Oommen, chief nursing officer at VPS Healthcare, turned emotional seeing the 10-year visa status on the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship app. She led the Group’s nursing taskforce throughout the pandemic and has heart-rending stories to tell on how her team toiled round-the-clock to contain an outbreak of Covid-19.

“We are not out of the woods yet but as part of the UAE’s healthcare system, we have ably managed the situation. Over the past three years there have been a lot of personal sacrifices by the nursing community. So, I feel touched by this gesture,” said Rani, whose husband is a frontliner working at Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City in Abu Dhabi.

“We both have got the 10-year Golden Visa. We feel blessed. We are inspired to give more to the community and to serve the nation with renewed passion and commitment. We plan to spend the rest of our lives in Abu Dhabi,” Rani noted.