UAE reports 2,426 new Covid-19 cases and two deaths

Testing numbers topped more than 435,000 as people prepare to return to workplace

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 2,426 new cases of Covid-19 on Friday as figures continued to climb.

There were two deaths taking the total since the pandemic began to 2,164.

A further 875 patients were given the all-clear.

The latest figures came against high testing numbers that reached 435,593 in a single day.

Millions of people are being tested ahead of the return to workplaces after the winter holidays.