Coronavirus: UAE reports 261 Covid-19 cases, 372 recoveries, no deaths

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention on Saturday reported 261 cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus, along with 372 recoveries and no deaths.

Total active cases stand at 15,164.

The new cases were detected through 274,597 additional tests.

The total number of cases in UAE as on April 23 are 896,892, while total recoveries stand at 879,426. The death toll stands at 2,302.

Beijing is on alert after 10 middle school students tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday, in what city officials said was an initial round of testing.

City officials suspended classes in the school for a week following the positive test results. The Chinese capital also reported four other confirmed cases on Friday that were counted separately.

Mainland China reported 24,326 new community-transmitted infections on Saturday, with the vast majority of them asymptomatic cases in Shanghai, where enforcement of a strict “zero-Covid” strategy has drawn global attention.

China has doubled down on the approach even in face of the highly transmissible Omicron variant. The zero-Covid policy warded off many deaths and widespread outbreaks when faced with less transmissible variants through mass testing and strict lockdowns where people could not leave their homes.

Meanwhile, Singapore will lift most of its strict virus curbs next week, officials announced Friday, hailing a “significant step” towards normalcy.

Earlier this month the city-state reopened its borders to all vaccinated visitors, joining other countries in the region that have recently dropped travel curbs as they shift to living with Covid-19.

Authorities announced plans Friday to lift more measures, including scrapping all testing requirements for vaccinated travellers beginning Tuesday, April 26.

Daily infections and hospitalisations have declined steadily in the past week, with under 3,100 local cases a day on average, the health ministry said in a press release.

• Dubai
• Abu Dhabi