Coronavirus: UAE reports 580 Covid-19 cases, 699 recoveries, no deaths

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention on Friday reported 580 cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus, along with 699 recoveries and no deaths.

Total active cases stand at 19,086.

The new cases were detected through 227,878 additional tests.

The total number of cases in UAE as on August 26 are 1,012,786, while total recoveries stand at 991,359. The death toll now stands at 2,341.

Medical facilities are offering Covid-19 PCR tests for free, or as low as Dh40, as schools are set to re-open after the summer holidays.

Students across the UAE will begin their new school year on August 29.

Pupils aged 12 and over, teaching and administrative staff, and service providers at government schools must obtain a negative PCR test result no more than 96 hours before the start of the new school year. However, private schools in Abu Dhabi and Dubai are yet to announce guidelines for the coming school year.

Meanwhile, China still requires international passengers to take pre-departure Covid-19 tests and quarantine upon arrival, the customs office said on Friday — a day after dropping some reporting requirements for travellers clearing customs.

China — which has shortened the quarantine period and removed some testing and self-isolation requirements for inbound international travellers — still has some of the world's most stringent Covid-19 policies.

On Thursday, Chinese customs said it had removed the requirements for travellers to report Covid tests, previous infections and vaccination dates when they clear customs, to make entry more convenient.

• Abu Dhabi
• Dubai