Coronavirus: UAE records 624 new cases as 33,153 tests are carried out

Another 11 people died after contracting the virus, while a further 458 have fully recovered

Mass testing across the country is credited with saving lives and allowing the economy to reopen gradually. All photos by Victor Besa / The National

A mass testing campaign aims to screen all workers living in Abu Dhabi’s Mussaffah area

The testing is free of cost, said the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi.

Free transportation is provided to take workers from their accommodation to testing centres.

The initiative announced by the Abu Dhabi Media Office, said no legal action will be taken against those who are living in the emirate on expired visas.

“Testing campaign and sanitisation [are] to be conducted in gradual phases, and in coordination with targeted blocks,” said the Abu Dhabi Media Office.

The main medical registration area at the Seha facility in Mussaffah.

Another queue sends visitors to a line where they are processed by handing over their Emirates ID card and phone number.

A staff member of the center directs a workers to the next area at the screening centre.

A high body temperature of 38°C could indicate signs of fever, a common coronavirus symptom.

Visitors must complete a brief questionnaire to help nurses understand the health status of those waiting in line.

On arrival in Mussaffah, workers walk through a sanitisation mist shower before entering the tented clinic.

Workers and residents queue in front of the sanitising gate before they can enter the main tent screening centre.

Latest: UAE records 781 new cases and 13 more deaths

The UAE confirmed 624 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday after carrying out a further 33,153 tests.

Authorities have recorded 17,417 infections since the outbreak emerged.

Officials said another 11 people had died after contracting the virus, bringing the country's death toll to 185.

An additional 458 people have recovered, pushing this tally to 4,295.

More than 25 per cent of people who have tested positive for Covid-19 have now beaten the virus.

Amna Al Dhahak, spokeswoman for the government, said the Emirates remains at an 'importance stage' in its fight to contain coronavirus.

She praised the efforts being made by key workers across the country to safeguard lives.

She said the country is united in 'solidarity' to overcome the challenges posed by the pandemic and urged people to 'stay home and stay safe'.

Professor Alawi Alsheikh-Ali, spokesperson for the UAE's advanced sciences sector, said significant work was being carried out in the Emirates to help scientists across the globe better understand Covid-19.

Speaking during the briefing, the expert said recent studies had identified three strains of the novel coronavirus (A to C).

He said two of these variants were found in the UAE after genetic sequencing research was completed for 25 patients.

The results revealed 24 had contracted strain B and most of these cases related to travel to Europe.

There was just one case of strain A of the virus, found in a visitor from China.

UAE research had identified 70 mutations in the existing strains of the virus, 17 of which had not been identified anywhere else in the world.

"This is an achievement for the UAE, in which our country is contributing to the global science community’s efforts in understanding Covid-19, through providing this information to an international research database for scientist and researchers."