Coronavirus: UAE reports 364 Covid-19 cases, 252 recoveries, no deaths

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention on Thursday reported 364 cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus, along with 252 recoveries and no deaths.

Total active cases stand at 13,851.

The new cases were detected through 268,888 additional tests.

The total number of cases in UAE as on May 12 are 901,440, while total recoveries stand at 885,287. The death toll now stands at 2,302.

North Korea has confirmed its first-ever case of Covid-19 and declared a “severe national emergency”, with leader Kim Jong Un vowing to “eliminate” the virus, state media said Thursday.

The impoverished, nuclear-armed country has never admitted to a case of Covid-19, with the government imposing a rigid coronavirus blockade of its borders since the start of the pandemic in 2020.

But samples taken from patients with fever in the capital were “consistent with” the virus’ highly transmissible Omicron variant, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

Top officials, including leader Kim Jong Un, held a crisis politburo meeting to discuss the outbreak and announced they would implement a “maximum emergency” virus control system.

Shanghai authorities combed the city on Thursday for its last Covid-19 cases in the hope of clearing the way for an exit from a painful six-week lockdown, while Beijing curbed taxi services to keep a lid on its smaller outbreak.

The Chinese commercial hub of 25 million people has in recent days been tightening its lockdown for a final push to eradicate the virus by the end of the month, having made some significant progress, according to data this week.

Shanghai's mass testing detected just two new cases outside areas facing the strictest curbs on May 11, officials said on Thursday, but that was two more than none the previous day.

• Dubai
• Abu Dhabi