Coronavirus: UAE reports 693 Covid-19 cases, 659 recoveries, no deaths

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention on Friday reported 693 cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus, along with 659 recoveries and no deaths.

Total active cases stand at 19,333.

The new cases were detected through 230,589 additional tests.

The total number of cases in UAE as on August 19 are 1,008,435, while total recoveries stand at 986,761. The death toll now stands at 2,341.

New coronavirus cases reported globally dropped nearly a quarter in the last week while deaths fell 6 per cent but were still higher in parts of Asia, according to a report Thursday on the pandemic by the World Health Organization.

The UN health agency said there were 5.4 million new Covid-19 cases reported last week, a decline of 24 per cent from the previous week. Infections fell everywhere in the world, including by nearly 40 per cent in Africa and Europe and by a third in the Middle East. Covid deaths rose in the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia by 31 per cent and 12 per cent respectively, but fell or remained stable everywhere else.

At a press briefing Wednesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said reported coronavirus deaths over the past month have surged 35 per cent, and noted there had been 15,000 deaths in the past week.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr said that he was considering extending the validity of the state of public health emergency until the end of the year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, reported Philippine News Agency (PNA).

"So, we will likely extend it until the end of this year," Marcos told reporters.

Former President Rodrigo Duterte declared a public health emergency in March 2020, following confirmation of local Covid-19 community transmission. Duterte had extended the emergency status until 12th September this year.

• Abu Dhabi
• Dubai