Coronavirus: UAE reports 522 Covid-19 cases, 539 recoveries, no deaths

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention on Monday reported 522 cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus, along with 539 recoveries and no deaths.

Total active cases stand at 18,842.

The new cases were detected through 229,236 additional tests.

The total number of cases in UAE as on August 29 are 1,014,387, while total recoveries stand at 993,204. The death toll now stands at 2,341.

Health experts in Hong Kong have warned of new clinical features — including hoarseness and inspiratory stridor (a sign of airway obstruction) — among children suffering from Covid-19, during the fifth wave.

The latest development brings concerns for the city, which has reported over 7,000 Covid-19 cases in four consecutive days, as the new school year for primary and secondary schools is set to begin on September 1, local media reports say.

According to China's Global Times, Chuang Shuk-Kwan, director of the Communicable Diseases Division of the Center for Health Protection of the HKSAR Government's Department of Health said that he found some infected children had developed croup, which indicates an inflammation of the larynx, windpipe, and bronchial tubes.

Mike Kwan Yat-wah, the consultant at the department of pediatrics and adolescent medicine at Princess Margaret Hospital, said that the clinical features among children during the fifth wave driven by the Omicron variant differ from those observed in the previous ones.

"Its symptoms are hoarseness and inspiratory stridor. In severe cases, it can produce acute obstruction of the respiratory tract and an absence of oxygen supply to an organ or a tissue," he added.

Meanwhile, the academic year 2022-23 marks the beginning of the most ‘normal’ schooling in the UAE since the Covid-19 pandemic hit. With most Covid-19 rules eased, all activities have been resumed.

The education sector was among the first to go online as Covid hit, with authorities prioritising the safety of children. Within days, students transitioned into online classrooms and mastered virtual learning.

When the Covid vaccines became available, teachers and staff signed up to get the jab at the earliest.

The country’s education sector will resume the most normal schooling in years after authorities ensured that the hundreds of thousands of students would remain safe. Here is how schooling is different this year:

>> PCR testing: Student need a negative result of a PCR test taken within 96 hours on day one of the new academic year. Routine testing is done away with for students.

>> Social distancing: Is not mandatory at education institutes or buses. It’s up to each facility to implement any decisions in this regard. Dubai’s education regulator has not announced any fresh updates to social distancing requirements at schools.

>> Temperature checks: These are not mandatory anymore. However, those experiencing high temperatures are required to stay away from school and get tested for Covid-19.

>> Vaccination: All students can attend classes regardless of their vaccination status.

>> Face masks: They are mandatory inside closed areas, and optional outdoors.

• Dubai
• Abu Dhabi