UAE records 1,298 new Covid-19 cases

Dr Fatimah Al Marzouqi sits with Karma Elsawir, 7, at Al Madina clinic in Ajman before the girl was immunised against Covid-19. All photos: Salam Al Amir / The National

Dr Al Marzouqi, who is Ajman’s primary health care director, says no serious side effects of the Sinopharm Covid-19 shot have been reported in children. She urges parents to have their young ones immunised.

Sidrathul Munthaha, 9, from Bangladesh, with her younger brother after they received their first shot of the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine.

Karma, who is Egyptian, expresses joy at having her first vaccine dose.

The UAE reported 1,298 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, its lowest daily tally for six weeks.

Another 1,157 people recovered from the virus in the past 24 hours and no coronavirus-related deaths were recorded.

The Emirates has announced 984,267 cases, 963,711 recoveries and 2,332 deaths to date.

The latest cases were detected as a result of an additional 157,949 PCR tests.

More than 176 million tests have been conducted in the UAE since the start of the pandemic.

Daily figures have declined steadily this month after a surge in infections the previous month.

Case numbers topped 1,800 on July 3 — having dropped below 200 in early May — but have now remained under 1,500 for the past 11 days.

The UAE has taken steps to limit the spread of the virus by adopting crucial safety measures, overseeing mass screening and vaccination drives, as well as by supporting health services in their efforts to deliver treatment to patients.

A major study looking at almost 11,000 patients in the UAE has highlighted the effectiveness of sotrovimab in preventing people from falling seriously ill with Covid-19.

The research on patients treated at Government of Dubai clinics and hospitals found that the monoclonal antibody — made by cloning a unique white blood cell — was far better than the antiviral drug favipiravir at preventing people from needing hospital treatment.

Like the US Food and Drug Administration, the UAE authorities approved the use of sotrovimab in mid-2021. This was based on the results of an earlier international clinical trial in which nearly 300 patients administered the drug were compared with a similar number not given it.