Coronavirus: UAE reports 452 Covid-19 cases, 198 recoveries, 2 deaths

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention on Tuesday reported 452 cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus, along with 198 recoveries and 2 deaths.

Over 107.4 million PCR tests have been conducted in the country so far.

The new cases were detected through 396,090 additional tests.

The total number of cases in UAE as on December 21 are 744,890, while total recoveries stand at 738,983. The death toll now stands at 2,154.

The Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR) on Tuesday issued a circular to all ministries and federal entities, amending some procedures aimed to combat the Covid-19 pandemic at the level of the federal government.

The authority called on federal government employees to take advantage of the free PCR test service provided by the Ministry of Health and Community Protection, through the "Shefaa" application or here.

The first global shipment of AstraZeneca’s antibody medicine against Covid-19 arrived in Abu Dhabi on Monday, after gaining emergency use authorisation from the country’s Ministry of Health and Prevention.

Evusheld, the long-acting antibody medication, is designed to prevent severe infection and death amongst immunocompromised patients.

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Expo 2020 Dubai on Monday said it has ramped up Covid-19 precautionary measures to safeguard the health and safety of visitors.

Owing to rising cases, the mega event has temporarily suspended parades and roving entertainers as a short-term precautionary measure.

The Jerusalem East and West Orchestra concert at Expo 2020 scheduled on December 22 has been postponed due to the recent travel restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities, the Israeli pavilion authorities have confirmed.

As several mainstream holiday destinations have been forced into lockdown due to the spread of the highly-contagious Omicron variant, travellers from the UAE are choosing ‘safer destinations’ for their upcoming Christmas and New Year’s Eve holidays.

Vacationers from UAE are opting to travel to destinations in Eastern Europe and island nations facing limited Covid-19 restrictions.

Dubai-based airline Emirates also announced a fresh flight suspension on Monday.

As per directives from the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), all air transport services to Dubai from Kenya will be temporarily suspended for 48 hours starting from December 20 (today).

• Dubai