UAE records 593 new Covid-19 cases

Perla Mansour, 4, takes a saliva test before the start of the new school term. All photos: Victor Besa / The National

Mohammed Al Suwaidi gets a swab test in Abu Dhabi as part of the new back-to-school rules.

Many parents have taken their children to Biogenix Labs in Masdar City to take PCR or saliva tests.

The Mansour family from Egypt attended a clinic in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday to get their oldest child tested for Covid-19 before returning to school next week.

Health workers keep the mood cheery for young pupils getting tested.

Special queues have been sectioned off at clinics across Abu Dhabi for school pupils who need to get tested.

Khalifa Al Nahdi, 4, queues for a test.

Pupils will need to show a negative nasal PCR or saliva test result taken within 96 hours before they can return to in-person classes next week.

Health workers hold up some of the many samples taken from school pupils.

A young Abu Dhabi resident gives a saliva sample.

Mohammed Al Bisher, 6, takes a saliva test.

More than a million pupils will return to school in the UAE after the summer break.

Bumper-to-bumper traffic outside Biogenix Labs in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi.

Parents take their children to Biogenix Labs in Masdar City to take PCR tests.

The UAE reported 593 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, after an additional 236,071 tests were carried out.

This brings the country's overall tally of infections to 1,012,206.

No deaths were reported in the past 24 hours, with the toll remaining at 2,341.

Another 628 people beat the virus, and total recoveries rose to 990,660.

More than 182 million PCR tests have been conducted since the start of the pandemic and nearly 25 million vaccine doses have been administered to date.

Case numbers have been on the decline and have remained below the 700-mark since August 19.

Earlier this week, the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (Ncema) announced back-to-school Covid safety rules as public and private school pupils prepare to return to lessons next Monday after the summer break.

Teachers and pupils at UAE’s public schools have access to free PCR tests and mobile testing centres have been established at 226 public schools across the country.

For those in private schools, tests will still be chargeable. Only pupils aged 12 and over need to be tested.