UAE: New COVID-19 cases dropped in August

Abu Dhabi: In a media briefing on Tuesday, UAE authorities said that UAE had ranked first globally in the number of COVID-19 tests conducted per 100,000 of the resident population. UAE conducted 2,018,274 tests in August to detect new coronavirus cases.

The UAE also ranked highest in number of tests daily (per 100,000 people) in July at an average of 47,857 coronavirus tests daily which translates to 483.9 tests a day per 100,000 people in the country. This was the highest in the world.

Dr Omar Al Hammadi, spokesperson for the UAE government, revealed these statistics on Tuesday adding that August surpassed July by 36 per cent in terms of number of coronavirus tests. More than 2 million tests in August also saw UAE at the eight position globally in total number of tests conducted by any country in a month.

In terms of confirmed cases, on average, 305 cases were recorded each day in August – which translates to 3.1 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. August also saw a 21 per cent drop in confirmed cases when compared to July, Hammadi confirmed. The death rate was 0.01 per cent in 100,000 people.

The number of deaths decreased by 5.7 per centy between July and August. When compared to tests conducted, confirmed positive cases were just 0.47 per cent in August and 0.81 per cent in July.

Dr Hammadi also spoke about COVID-19 cases in the UAE. Incubation period for cases recorded ranged from 2 to 14 days, most people showing symptoms 5 days after contracting the virus. He added that symptoms seemed to be delayed in elderly individuals or those with chronic illnesses.

Hammadi asserted that diabetes medications have no proven complications when coupled with COVID-19. He added that stopping or reducing medicines, insulin or other treatments without a doctor’s advice could have serious complications for those who have the disease. He said, “People with diabetes, people with type 1 diabetes and those with gestational diabetes are more likely to have complications associated with COVID-19.”