Coronavirus: UAE reports 1,398 new Covid-19 cases

Number of recoveries outstrips new cases, but two patients die

Almost 1,400 cases of Covid-19 were recorded across the UAE on Thursday.

The 1,398 new infections raised the country's total to 111,437 since the outbreak. They were detected after 114,147 Covid-19 tests were carried out.

Another 1,666 patients were cleared of the virus, taking the recovery tally to 103,325.

The National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority said two patients died, raising the death toll to 452.

There are now 7,660 active cases of the virus across the UAE, down from above 10,000 on October 4.

The highest number of active cases in the UAE was 17,031 on June 5.

Since then, the UAE has increased efforts to enforce safety regulations in place to prevent the spread of the virus and continued its mass testing programme.

 

The UAE has carried out more than 11.3 million tests since the first cases were reported in January, making it among the top countries for screening per capita.

Of all recorded coronavirus cases, 93 per cent have ended in recovery.

New infections have been above 1,000 for 14 of the 15 days so far this month.

Recovery rates, meanwhile, have also been on the rise, ranging between 1,001 and 1,769 during October.

On Thursday, Dubai Economy said its inspectors fined six businesses and warned three others for failing to meet Covid-19 safety requirements.

Three of the six were fined because staff were not wearing their face masks correctly while another two were found not to be upholding mandatory physical distancing rules.

The sixth fine was issued against a business for breaching several of the rules put in place by authorities to protect staff and customers.

The offences were reported in clothes shops and money exchanges in Al Quoz, Al Sabkha, and Al Dhagaya.

Inspectors also fined two places for organising sporting events without approval from the Dubai Sports Council.

Overall, 542 shops and commercial establishments inspected were found to be in full compliance of safety measures.

More than 39 million cases have been reported globally, with 29.2 million recoveries and 1.1 million deaths.

Updated: October 15, 2020, 11:01 PM