Coronavirus: UAE reports 1,609 Covid-19 cases, 1,584 recoveries, 1 death

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention on Saturday reported 1,609 cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus, along with 1,584 recoveries and 1 death.

Total active cases stand at 17,385.

The new cases were detected through 230,353 additional tests.

The total number of cases in UAE as on July 9 are 961,345, while total recoveries stand at 941,637. The death toll now stands at 2,323.

With community members in a celebratory mood during the four-day-long Eid Al Adha break, health authorities in Abu Dhabi have urged strict adherence to Covid-19 guidelines.

Dr Farida Al Hosani, Executive Director of the Infectious Disease Sector at Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre, stressed that people must not become complacent and follow all the precautionary measures.

“What seems like basic measures, some of which now come naturally to us like wearing our masks while in public or crowded places, covering our mouth with our elbows while coughing or sneezing, washing our hands frequently are actually effective precautions that got us through the hardest phase of the pandemic."

Additionally, the UAE Cabinet meeting chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, reviewed the outcomes of the Covid-19 recovery plan (2020-2021), which included developing and implementing of 33 initiatives in partnership with federal and local entities.

The initiatives had a 100 per cent success rate in empowering the economy, developing sectors, and opening new markets.

Meanwhile, A South Korean activist said Thursday he launched more huge balloons carrying Covid-19 relief items toward North Korea, days after the North vowed to sternly deal with such activities and made a highly questionable claim they were a source of the virus.

South Korean experts doubt North Korea's moves to blame South Korean balloons and say the intent might be to incite anti-South Korea sentiments and ease public complaints over its handling of the outbreak. The coronavirus is spread by people in close contact who inhale airborne droplets, and the expert consensus is that the spread of the virus from surfaces is virtually impossible.

Park Sang-hak, a North Korean defector-turned-activist, said his group floated 20 balloons carrying 20,000 masks and tens of thousands of vitamin C and fever-reducing tablets from a South Korean border town on Wednesday. He said he sent similar aid items by balloon across the inter-Korean border twice last month.

Park previously flew balloons to distribute anti-North Korea propaganda leaflets, US one-dollar bills and USB sticks containing information about the outside world. But he said he'll now focus on sending medical relief items because North Koreans urgently need them.