Coronavirus: UAE records 427 new cases as more than 88,000 tests are conducted

The UAE recorded 427 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, bringing its total to 69,328. Officials confirmed a further 341 people had beaten the virus as the recovery tally rose to 60,202. No patients died, with the death toll in the Emirates remaining at 379. The latest infections were detected after a further 88,803 tests were conducted. The UAE has completed close to 7 million tests since the outbreak began, with mass screening a central part of the nation's strategy to combat the pathogen. Case figures have been on the rise throughout August, leading to renewed calls from authorities for the public to continue to take the threat to health seriously. On August 3, the UAE recorded only 164 new infections but case numbers rose to a monthly high of 491 on Thursday. Leading figures in the fight against Covid-19 have warned that the UAE could face a "second wave" of coronavirus cases. In a television interview on Sunday, Obaid Al Shamsi, director general of the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority, spoke of an urgent need for people to be vigilant to avoid a second wave of Covid-19 cases. "We need to be aware that the UAE strategy is a balance between the health sector and the economy," he said. "People think that by opening the economy, the pandemic is over. It is not over. And if we neglect it, then we will face a second wave." The Ministry of Education this week that schools would temporarily close if two or more cases were identified. The authority announced new guidelines for the safe return of staff and pupils to classrooms from Sunday. Using a calculation based on the number of new cases in the community to determine the threat to schools, the guidelines set out four levels of risk: low, moderate, high and extreme levels. In the event of an 'extreme risk' to safety, which is is reached when there are at least 36 cases per 100,000 population in seven days, in-class lessons will be halted, with a return to full-time distance learning.

Coronavirus: UAE records 427 new cases as more than 88,000 tests are conducted

No patients died and a further 341 patients have recovered from the virus