DUBAI: The UAE on Friday recorded 3,579 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and nine more deaths related to the disease.
Officials from the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHaP) said the total number of cases in the country has reached 277,955, while the death toll stands at 792.
The ministry said that 4,166 patients have recovered from the virus in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total number of recoveries to 251,484.
Abu Dhabi’s Department of Health said it had approved three faster types of testing to diagnose cases of COVID-19 in hospital emergency departments or urgent care centers.
They include a rapid 15 minute antigen test, an RT-LAMP test, and a saliva test that can be used in children’s health facilities when it is not possible to obtain a nasal swab.
.@DoHSocial has approved 3 new Covid-19 diagnostic tests to be used in ER departments & urgent care centres in #AbuDhabi emirate. The new tests which are based on the latest global scientific developments, provide faster results & support physicians to provide better patient care pic.twitter.com/Mmq6hT0lIa
— مكتب أبوظبي الإعلامي (@admediaoffice) January 24, 2021
Jamal Mohammed Al-Kaabi, the department’s undersecretary, said the new tests have been approved based on the latest scientific developments in detecting the virus.
Currently, the PCR nasal swab test is available in 24 health centers and laboratories and eight drive-through centers throughout the emirate.
During daily inspection tours, officials from Dubai Economy said they closed down three businesses, including two gyms and a department store, and issued fines to 28 commercial establishments over failures to adhere to COVID-19 precautions.
Dubai Municipality announced it has intensified its inspection campaigns. It said five businesses were ordered to close, one was fined and warnings were issued to 26 for not complying with precautionary measures.
Elsewhere, Kuwait reported 384 new cases of COVID-19, raising the total in the country to 161,285. The death toll remained 952 after no additional deaths were reported in the previous 24 hours.
تعلن #وزارة_الصحة عن تأكيد إصابة 384 حالة جديدة، وتسجيل 507 حالة شفاء، ولم تسجل أي حالة وفاة جديدة بـ #فيروس_كورونا_المستجدّ COVID-19 ، ليصبح إجمالي عدد الحالات 161,285 حالة pic.twitter.com/lIrU6UDQtY
— وزارة الصحة - الكويت (@KUWAIT_MOH) January 24, 2021
Oman’s Health Ministry said that its total number of cases had reached 133,044 and the death toll was 1,521.
#Statement No. 273
January 24, 2021 pic.twitter.com/5HcwxYrdNj— وزارة الصحة - عُمان (@OmaniMOH) January 24, 2021
In Bahrain the death toll stands at 367 after no new deaths were reported. The number of confirmed cases in the country increased by 361.
Out of 11440 COVID-19 tests carried out on 24 January 2021, 361 new cases have been detected among 190 expatriate workers, 160 new cases are contacts of active cases, and 11 are travel related. There were 420 recoveries from #COVID19, increasing total recoveries to 96532 pic.twitter.com/dSHvx8ZvYr
— وزارة الصحة | مملكة البحرين (@MOH_Bahrain) January 24, 2021