UAE reveals six new cases of Covid-19 as two recover
Six new cases of Covid-19 were reported in UAE, as two patients recovered from the coronavirus.
The Ministry of Health and Prevention on Thursday said the new patients are four Iranians, a Chinese citizen and a Bahraini. All had recently travelled to the UAE from Iran – where 254 people have been infected and 26 have died in the past few days – before the ban on all flights from the country.
The six new cases, that were detected using the UAE’s early screening system, bring the country’s total to 19.
The ministry also announced that two people from China had recovered – bringing the total number of healed patients in the UAE to five. One of the the two, a 36-year-old woman, belonged to the family from Wuhan who became the UAE’s first four cases of coronavirus in January. The entire family has now made a full recovery after being treated in UAE hospitals.
Iran’s government, meanwhile, was thrown into turmoil on Thursday when coronavirus was diagnosed in three of its members.
The legislators were identified as Masoumeh Ebtekar, Vice President of Iran for Women and Family Affairs, Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi and MP Mahmoud Sadeghi. Ms Ebtekar is better known as the English-language spokeswoman “Mary” for the 1979 hostage-takers who seized the US Embassy in Tehran.
Mojtaba Zonnour, MP for the city of Qom, where the Iranian outbreak began, posted a video on Thursday
saying he also tested positive for the virus.
Tehran cancelled Friday prayers this week because of the sharp increase in coronavirus cases in the country, state-affiliated media reported.
Iran is the centre of the outbreak in the Middle East, with a majority of cases being traced to the city of Qom. There are now 254 infected people in the country and 26 have died.
Elsewhere in the Middle East, Lebanon reported its third case of the virus, while Kuwait’s ministry of health confirmed the number of coronavirus cases in the country rose to 43.
On Wednesday, Iraq barred travellers from Kuwait and Bahrain from entry. Iraq has confirmed six cases so far.
On Thursday, Saudi Arabia introduced a temporary ban on religious visits to the country amid concerns over the spread
of coronavirus in the region and the safety of pilgrims.
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it would temporarily suspend entry to the kingdom for visits to religious sites including Makkah and Madinah as part of a range of precautionary measures, the Spa news agency reported.
“Saudi Arabia renews its support for all international measures to limit the spread of this virus and urges its citizens to exercise caution before travelling to countries experiencing coronavirus outbreaks,” the ministry said.
The kingdom also suspended entry for people with a tourist visa from countries with confirmed outbreaks of coronavirus.
The foreign ministry said the measures were put in place in line with recommendations made by international health authorities and to support global efforts to curb the outbreak.
Travel to and from the kingdom from GCC countries using national identity cards, was also suspended, but the ministry said GCC citizens would be permitted to return to their home countries using their own identity cards.
The UAE’s Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship also said that as of Friday, GCC citizens must carry their passports to travel so the movement of people who visit countries where the virus is present can be monitored.
“UAE citizens residing abroad who left the country using their ID cards, as well as GCC citizens who entered the UAE prior to the decision, are exempt,” the authority said in a statement carried by state news agency Wam.
“These procedures are temporary and subject to review and reassessment.”
In Dubai, school pupils were asked to declare their families’ travel history to help tackle the spread of the virus.
On Thursday, the Dubai Health Authority sent a form to parents via schools in an effort to build a picture of potential risks.
It asked parents if their children or relatives had travelled to China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Iran, Japan, Singapore or Italy in the past 28 days.
The World Health Organisation said it briefed health partners in the region on ways to prevent the spread of coronavirus in refugee camps.
Refugees and internally displaced people are the most vulnerable groups in the region if the virus spreads.
“Refugees are at equal risk of catching coronavirus as those living in the host community,” the WHO’s emergency coordinator in Iraq, Wael Hatahit, told