UAE conducts over one million tests for coronavirus

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has conducted more than one million tests for coronavirus, the government announced on Saturday night. According to the UAE health official, the test for the virus had been ramped up with more than 1.2 million COVID-19 tests done so far across the emirates. Around 20 percent of all cases have now recovered, with 1,887 recoveries in total. Health official cited a daily average of 100 recoveries.

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention also confirmed a further 532 new COVID-19 cases, taking the emirates’ total to 9,813 cases. There were seven deaths and 127 recoveries.

Moreover, some lockdown measures have been lifted partially for Ramazan across the UAE but the authorities said it does not mean life is fully back to normal and precautions must remain in place specifically wearing of masks and maintaining social distancing.

Meanwhile, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Sayed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari has stated that the commercial flights would start next month for repatriation of stranded Pakistanis from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He also announced that there would be 30 to 40 percent reduction in the ticket fares of the special flights.

Pakistan’s Ambassador in Abu Dhabi Ghulam Dastagir and Consul General in Dubai Ahmed Amjad Ali also participated in the teleconference.

Speaking with the UAE based Pakistani diaspora from Islamabad, the minister Zulfi Bukhari stated that one way ticket would be sold from D1,000 (Rs43,000) to Dh1,550 (Rs67,000) according to the city in Pakistan. Currently, one way fare of special flight is ranging around Dh1,500 (Rs66,000) to Dh2,200 (Rs95,000). Many complaints were lodged with the authorities about the exorbitant ticket price. The minister requested the Pakistani philanthropists in the UAE to arrange tickets for deserving people seeking to return to their homeland.

Zulfikar Bukhari stated that the national carrier had been currently evacuating the countrymen with more than 10 flights from the emirates and assured the community to increase the number of flights soon.

“Currently, we are repatriating Pakistanis in 11 flights while the UAE is managing 6 flights to help Pakistan in evacuation”, Zulfi Bukhari informed the community.

But, the Consul General of Pakistan in Dubai Ahmed Amjad Ali stated that the consulate neither provided the lists of passengers to other flights flying to Pakistan nor the mission has any accurate details of those flights.

Meanwhile, Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari said that the government of Pakistan started evacuating the stranded Pakistanis after successful coordination with the UAE authorities.

“Pakistan has been assured by the UAE authorities that it would prefer to give employments in the emirates to Pakistanis in future”, he revealed, adding that Pakistan had only then begun special flight operations after negotiations. He also said that Pakistan has been putting in its efforts to repatriate its countrymen from the UAE.