COVID-19: Precautions during Eid Al Adha in UAE, risks of smoking, and more men infected than women
The updates were announced during the government briefing on Monday
Dubai: In a government media briefing on Wednesday, UAE authorities announced the precuations to be taken in light of the upcoming Eid Al Adha weekend.
On Wednesday, Abdul Rahman Al Owais, Minister of Health and Community Protection reiterated the importance of following precautions during the Eid Al Adha celebrations.
Also see
Dr Omar Al Hammadi, spokesperson for the UAE government, added that 47 people from 5 families were infected with the new coronavirus disease after two separate gatherings without adhering to COVID-19 guidelines and social distancing.
Hammadi added that statistics have shown that a majority of the infected cases were men. He said evidence suggested that a woman's immune system works better than that of men because of genetic and hormonal factors.
He added that it is thought that typical behaviour of men in social scenarios increase the risk of infection, such as going to crowded places, restaurants, cafes, etc, which increases the chances of getting infected.
Hammadi said, "Smoking really affects the likelihood of recovery of a COVID-19 patient, and may even aggravate his health condition, especially since it is primarily a respiratory disease." He added that for smokers, the lung is damaged by smoking, and is less effective at battling the infection than the lungs of a non-smoker.
However, he said, the recovery time of a patient depends on age and medical history, and whether he or she suffers from chronic diseases.