Indian among 15 new cases of coronavirus in UAE

Dubai, Mar 08: An Indian national is among 15 new cases of the deadly coronavirus in the UAE, taking the total number of confirmed infections in the country to 45, health officials have said.

The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) on Friday said in a statement that 13 out of 15 new cases in the UAE recently arrived from abroad.

They were diagnosed through early monitoring and reporting systems implemented in the country and are three Emiratis, two individuals from Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Iran as well as a person each from Thailand, Morocco, China and India, the statement said.

"The UAE announces recovery of two cases of COVID-19 and reported a 15 cases of different nationalities have tested positive for the virus, taking to 45 the total infections in the country," the MoHAP tweeted on Friday.

Five individuals in close contact with COVID-19 patients have also been screened, placed under health quarantine and subjected to preventive measures to curb the spread of the virus in the country, the statement added.

All cases are being monitored round-the clock, are in a stable condition and are receiving all necessary health care required, the statement said.

Meanwhile, two Chinese patients, including a 10-year-old boy, diagnosed with the deadly coronavirus in the UAE have recovered from the illness, the MoHAP said, adding that the total number of recovered cases in the UAE now stands at seven.

The virus that first emerged in China's Wuhan city in the Hubei province in December last year has spread to 97 countries and has infected 102,180 people, including 80,651 in China, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus tracker.

China has reported 28 new fatalities from the deadly coronavirus outbreak, taking the death toll in the country to 3,070, Chinese health officials said on Saturday.