• The Ministry of Health and Prevention said the new cases involved people from a number of countries in Europe, Africa and across the Middle East
• The increase brings the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 333

Arab News

DUBAI: The UAE has reported 85 new coronavirus cases and seven recoveries, state news agency WAM reported on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Health and Prevention said the new cases involved people from a number of countries in Europe, Africa and across the Middle East.

The increase brings the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 333.

The recovered cases are five Bangladeshi and two Pakistani nationals. The patients left the hospital after making a full recovery, bringing the total number of recovered cases in the country to 52.

Medical professionals and other adults are required by law to notify the authorities of any suspected cases, failure to do so can result in prosecution.

“The detection of one infected case compels the authorities to conduct a necessary investigation among all those in contact with this one case in order to identify the source of the infection and its aftermath,” The official spokesperson of the UAE health sector Dr Farida Al-Hosani said.

“In this we usually detect additional cases. It usually starts with a person coming from abroad who then transmits the virus to others around him or her.”

“The recent precautionary measures announced are aimed at protecting society, with the law to be applied only to violators of the UAE law on communicable diseases, under which violators are subject to jail terms and fines,” she added.