Confidence rises as active Covid cases fall in UAE

A massive testing campaign coupled with a high recovery rate has worked in the UAE's favour, with active cases on Thursday declining to a four-digit number for the first time in 70 days.
With 9,679 active cases, the UAE's strategy to 'test, test and test' has paid off as the country cautiously reopens to returning residents and tourists with strict safety measures in place. The last time the number of active cases was below 10,000 was on April 30, when it stood at 9,947.
The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention yesterday reported 532 new cases, 1,288 new recoveries and one death.
The UAE's recovery rate now stands at 81.32 per cent compared with the global average of 58.17 per cent, and the country has been leading the world in Covid-19 tests per million of population. Another two million tests will be conducted over the next 60 days, authorities have announced, totalling a whopping six million tests by the end of August, or more than 60 per cent of the UAE's total population.
Meanwhile, the number of infections worldwide surged past 12 million. Caseloads and death tolls have risen relentlessly in many of the world's biggest nations, with the virus now claiming over 550,000 lives across the planet.
The United States remains the worst-hit nation even as President Donald Trump remains keen for the economy to restart despite warnings about the dangers of reopening too soon. He has even faced off with his own government's experts, lashing out at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for issuing school reopening guidelines that he complained were too restrictive.
While a spike in coronavirus cases and tens of thousands of new cases reported each day has forced some states to again close bars and restaurants, the measures do not seem to be affecting the steady drop in new claims for unemployment benefits - with the number at 1.3 million last week according to government figures.

(With input from agencies)
reporters@khaleejtimes.com