Coronavirus: UAE reports 321 Covid-19 cases, 296 recoveries, no deaths

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention on Tuesday reported 321 cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus, along with 296 recoveries and no deaths.

Total active cases stand at 18,613.

The new cases were detected through 115,467 additional tests.

The total number of cases in UAE as on October 10 are 1,031,500, while total recoveries stand at 1,010,541. The death toll now stands at 2,346.

Passengers and crew of cruise ships entering Abu Dhabi have been exempted from showing green pass on Al Hosn app to visit tourist attractions and establishments, the local authority said.

“Based on the directives of the concerned authorities issued in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, passengers and crew arriving Abu Dhabi via cruise ships are now exempt from green pass protocols to enter tourism attractions and establishments,” the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT – Abu Dhabi) said.

Instead of the app, visitors can use cards or wristbands issued by cruise ships.

“Cruise cards or cruise wristbands issued by cruise ships will be used as identification for passengers and crew, to allow them to enter tourism establishments without having to show a green pass on the Al Hosn app.”

The circular has been issued to general managers of hotel and tourism establishments, event organisers and venue owners, museums, cultural and leisure sites.

Recently, the local authorities eased several Covid-19 precautionary measures, including increasing the validity of green pass to 30 days, making masks optional in majority of the public places and reducing the isolation period to five days.

Meanwhile, Shanghai and other big Chinese cities, including Shenzhen and Xian, have ramped up testing for Covid-19, as infections ticked up after a week-long holiday, with some local authorities hastily closing schools, entertainment venues and tourist spots.

Infections have risen this week to the highest since August, with the uptick coming after increased domestic travel during the National Day "Golden Week", earlier this month.

Authorities reported 2,089 new local infections for October 10, the highest since August 20.

While most of the cases were found in tourist destinations, including scenic spots in the northern region of Inner Mongolia, megacities that are often the source of well-heeled and well-travelled tourists have started to report more cases this week.

China's financial capital Shanghai, a city of 25 million people, reported 28 new local cases for October 10 — the fourth day of double-digit increases.

Shanghai — keen to avoid a reprise of the lockdown in April and May, said late on Monday that all of its 16 districts were to conduct routine testing at least twice a week, until November 10. That's a step up from once a week, a regime imposed after the earlier lockdown was lifted.

• Abu Dhabi
• Dubai