Coronavirus: UAE reports 226 Covid-19 cases, 619 recoveries, no deaths

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention on Saturday reported 226 cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus, along with 619 recoveries and no deaths.

Total active cases stand at 17,887.

The new cases were detected through 241,982 additional tests.

The total number of cases in UAE as on April 9 are 893,638, while total recoveries stand at 873,449. The death toll now stands at 2,302.

The United States on Friday authorised the "voluntary departure" of non-essential personnel from its consulate in Shanghai and recommended that Americans not travel to China due to tough Covid restrictions there.

The families of all US personnel are also allowed to leave, the State Department said in a statement.

The agency warned US citizens against travelling to Shanghai, China's economic capital and largest city, "due to Covid-19 related restrictions, including the risk of parents and children being separated."

China has been battling its worst wave of infections since the start of the pandemic and Shanghai has been under total or partial lockdown for two weeks, with some 25 million people ordered to stay at home.

Meanwhile, the Indian government has directed five states, including Maharashtra, Kerala and Delhi, to continue monitoring the spread of Covid-19 cases and take steps for prompt and effective management.

“A sustained and significant decline in the number of Covid-19 cases has been observed in India over the past two months, with the country reporting less than 1,000 daily new cases for the past few days,” said Rajesh Bhushan, the union health secretary on Friday. “The weekly positivity rate has remained below 1 per cent. However, some states are contributing more cases than the others.”

Kerala has reported 2,321 new cases last week accounting for 31.8 per cent of new cases.

“The state has also seen an increase in the positivity rate in the last week from 13.4 per cent to 15.5 per cent,” said Bhushan. “Regular monitoring and follow-up action in emerging areas of concern is crucial.”

• Dubai
• Abu Dhabi