Coronavirus: UAE reports 422 Covid-19 cases, 302 recoveries, no deaths

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention on Sunday reported 422 cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus, along with 302 recoveries and no deaths.

Total active cases stand at 18,269.

The new cases were detected through 197,656 additional tests.

The total number of cases in UAE as on September 18 are 1,022,960, while total recoveries stand at 1,002,349. The death toll now stands at 2,342.

India pacer Mohammed Shami tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the T20I series against Australia, starting on Tuesday.

As per the ESPNcricinfo, Shami tested positive for Covid-19 and Umesh Yadav, who was supposed to undergo rehab for a quad injury in Bengaluru, has been brought into the squad and will play his first T20I in almost two years.

The fast bowler tested positive for Covid-19 and was supposed to play for India in the T20I series against Australia, which begins on Tuesday, but he is yet to arrive in Mohali, where the first game is scheduled to take place.

Since July 2022, the 32-year-old has not been seen on the field. He hasn't played a T20 International since November 2021. Nonetheless, his experience and performance in the IPL - 20 wickets in 16 matches for the champions Gujarat Titans - were viewed as valuable assets by the selectors, driving them to retain him on standby for the World Cup.

Meanwhile, The World Health Organisation raised the alarm on Saturday about a “second disaster" in the wake of the deadly floods in Pakistan this summer, as doctors and medical workers on the ground race to battle outbreaks of waterborne and other diseases.

The floodwaters started receding this week in the worst-hit provinces but many of the displaced — now living in tents and makeshift camps — increasingly face the threat of gastrointestinal infections, dengue fever and malaria, which are on the rise. The dirty and stagnant waters have become breeding grounds for mosquitos.

The unprecedented monsoon rains since mid-June, which many experts link to climate change, and subsequent flooding have killed 1,545 people across Pakistan, inundated millions of acres of land and affected 33 million people. As many as 552 children have also been killed in the floods.

“I am deeply concerned about the potential for a second disaster in Pakistan: a wave of disease and death following this catastrophe, linked to climate change, that has severely impacted vital health systems leaving millions vulnerable," WHO's director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said in a statement.

“The water supply is disrupted, forcing people to drink unsafe water," he said. “But if we act quickly to protect health and deliver essential health services, we can significantly reduce the impact of this impending crisis."

• Abu Dhabi
• Dubai