DUBAI: The UAE recorded an increase of 136 new Covid-19 cases in just a day’s time, raising concern among health officials who reminded everyone to be mindful of protocols like social distancing and properly wearing face masks. As of Wednesday evening, Aug. 19, there were 435 new cases recorded across the country, the first time the numbers hit this high in months.
WAM, the government’s official news agency reported that Health and Prevention Minister Abdul Rahman bin Mohammad bin Nasser Al Owais said there has been a “noticeable increase in daily infection rates” of the coronavirus in the country, which, he said, “may be an indicator of an alarming increase in the number of cases in the coming period.”
Dr. Omar Al Hammadi, official UAE government spokesperson, meantime also pointed to the worrying increase in the number of daily cases, the Emirates News Agency, or WAM, said in an advisory issued on Tuesday, Aug. 18.
Al Owais and Dr. Al Hammadi attributed this to people attending gatherings and visits without following basic precautionary and preventive measures such as physical distancing and wearing masks.
Both stressed the importance of adhering to these measures.
750,000 documented OFWs
The UAE is second home to an estimated 750,000 documented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
There have been 60 Filipinos who have died of coronavirus infection in Dubai since the pandemic hit the UAE in late January this year, according to Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes.
“This is precisely why we never should let our guards down,” Cortes said, following the WAM announcement.
“The virus is still there and although we know more of how to protect ourselves, we must not be complacent,” he added.
The UAE, in the past several weeks, have been seeing relatively low numbers of new Covid-19 cases.
Dr. Al Hammadi stressed that this apparently did not mean the virus has subsided as can be gleaned from the sudden increase in the numbers.
The doctor stressed that the alarming increase in the number of infections is an indication that COVID-19 cannot be overlooked and that people need to continue to follow all of the preventive health and safety measures, the most important of which is physical distancing and avoiding large gatherings and visits, the WAM report stated.
Dr. Al Hammadi said there were 6,631 patients receiving Covid-19 treatment as of press time.
Numbers
There were, according to the daily tally by the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP), 365 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, Aug. 18; the day before on Aug. 17, Monday, the numbers stood at 229 – an increase of 136 new cases.
The number further went up on Wednesday, Aug. 19 with 435 new cases recorded — the first time in the past months that the figure breached the 400-mark.
On Sunday, Aug. 16, it was 210. There were 330 new Covid-19 cases last Friday, Aug. 14.
As of this writing, total Covid-19 cases in the UAE was at 64,906 of which 57,909 were recoveries. There have been 366 Covid-19 deaths so far, the latest of which were two fatalities also on Tuesday, Aug. 18 and another one on Wednesday, Aug. 19. according to MOHAP.
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