Coronavirus: UAE reports 200 Covid-19 cases, 119 recoveries, no deaths

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention on Thursday reported 200 cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus, along with 119 recoveries and no deaths.

Over 105.9 million PCR tests have been conducted in the country so far.

The new cases were detected through 337,670 additional tests.

The total number of cases in UAE as on December 16 are 743,352, while total recoveries stand at 738,260. The death toll now stands at 2,151.

In the wake of the growing number of new cases rising above 100 for two consecutive days

On Wednesday evening the Abu Dhabi Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Committee announced the resumption of the use of facial Covid-19 scanners to enter the emirate from within the UAE from Sunday, December 19

Authorities will use EDE scanners to check people for Covid-19 infection at the border entry point to the Capital.

Anyone with signs that they may have the virus will be sent for a free rapid antigen test which delivers results in about 20 minutes.

As the country gears up for the festive season, authorities in the UAE have announced the Covid safety protocols for taking part in Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations.

NCEMA said on Wednesday that residents must have a green pass on their AlHosn apps to enter a venue. Additionally, they must have a negative result of a Covid test taken within 96 hours of the event.

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The General Civil Aviation Authority on Wednesday have introduced new travel requirements for those coming on direct flights from the following countries: Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia.

GCAA have also announced the suspension of all inbound flights for national and international carriers and transit passengers from the Republic of Congo, from Friday, December 17, effective 8am.

As Australia reopens its borders, Dubai's Emirates is increasing its capacity on flights from Dubai to Brisbane commencing today (December 16).

The Dubai-based carrier announced that from February 5, Emirates flights to Perth will also operate at full capacity for eligible vaccinated travellers.

Australia on Wednesday reopened borders to vaccinated skilled migrants and foreign students after a nearly two-year ban on their entry, in a bid to boost an economy hit by stop-start Covid-19 lockdowns.

The emergence of the new Omicron variant forced officials to delay the reopening of international travel by two weeks after health officials sought a pause to get more information about the strain, which appears to show milder symptoms than other coronavirus variants.

• UAE