As the numbers continue to sharply increase, the UAE yesterday announced 85 new coronavirus cases, more than doubling the total to 333 from 140 last week.
Among the new infections were three Filipinos. There already were eight Filipinos who have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease brought by the novel coronavirus. The new cases brought the number of Filipinos afflicted with the disease at 11, of which two have recovered.
The number of COVID-19 infections in the UAE has been jumping up since Monday, March 23, when the government confirmed 45 new cases. On Tuesday, 50 new cases were reported – the single biggest number of confirmed cases since January – bringing the total to 248.
There have been two deaths.
On the recoveries side, the government announced that seven more COVID-19 patients have recuperated, bringing the number so far at 52.
In a regular press briefing by the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP), Dr. Farida Al Hosani, official spokesperson and director of the Department of Communicable Diseases (DED), Al Hosani stressed the importance of all UAE citizens and residents staying home unless absolutely necessary, and adhering to all precautionary measures advised by the authorities.
“The detection of one infected case compels the authorities to conduct a necessary investigation among all those in contact with this one case in order to identify the source of the infection and its aftermath. In this we usually detect additional cases. It usually starts with a person coming from abroad who then transmits the virus to others around him or her,” she explained.
“The recent precautionary measures announced are aimed at protecting society, with the law to be applied only to violators of the UAE law on communicable diseases, under which violators are subject to jail terms and fines,” she warned.
Al Hosani said the new cases are from various nationalities, including one each from Djibouti, Canada, Hungary, Russia, Belgium, Mauritius, Tunisia, Serbia, Venezuela, Sweden, Brazil, Romania, and Oman; two each from Palestine, Indonesia, Colombia, Japan, Germany, Egypt, Morocco and Spain; three each from the Netherlands, Australia, South Africa, Philippines, France, India, the US, and China; four each from Saudi Arabia and Italy; five each from Iran and Pakistan, and seven each from the UAE and Britain, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 333.
She also announced the recovery of seven cases–five Bangladeshis and two Pakistani nationals–who have all been discharged from the hospital after making a full recovery, taking the total number of recoveries in the UAE to 52 so far.
The Daily Bread 