Dubai: The UAE witnessed an increase in COVID-19 infection rates among Emiratis during Ramadan due to family visits, a senior health official said.
Humaid Al Qutami, Director General of Dubai Health Authority (DHA), said that with more infections announced in the UAE, the authority had noticed an increase in infected citizens in the last two weeks.
“Since the beginning of Ramadan, we spotted increase in the number of new cases of coronavirus among Emiratis due to family visits related to the local traditions in the holy month,” Al Qutami said during a virtual Ramadan session with number of officials on Sunday night.
Al Qutami said that UAE is one of the top countries in the world in conducting medical tests for the virus.
Dubai has conducted about 430,000 tests since the beginning of the crisis, according to Al Qutami in the session.
On Sunday, another 731 people tested positive for coronavirus across the country, pushing the total number of COVID-19 infections to 23,358, according to the Ministry of Health and Prevention. Six more deaths from the novel coronavirus have been also confirmed, taking the country’s death toll to 220.
However, UAE also announced full recovery of 581 new cases after receiving the necessary treatment, taking the total number of recovered patients to 8,512.
Meanwhile, Lt General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Deputy Chairman of Police and Public Security in Dubai, said during the session that UAE topped the world in the sense of security and hasn’t witness any shortage in food supplies or discrimination in the treatment of Emiratis and residents.
“UAE leaders set an example during the crisis. There is no stranded Emirati outside the country and UAE brought stranded Arab nationals and provided shelter and medical treatment for them,” Lt gen Tamim said in the session.
He added that UAE will be the most attractive point to investors and residents after the crisis ends.
