UAE has recorded lowest number of new Covid-19 cases for 2021 in July, an encouraging sign of recovery. July has recorded just over 47,900 cases, an average of 1,540 daily cases. This has dropped from the previous low of 50,500 that was recorded in May. 

UAE has achieved this milestone even after contagious Delta variant was detected in June when over 62,000 cases were detected, with average of 2,060 cases in a day.

Doctors have given credit to availability of many Covid-19 vaccines, anti-viral medicine Sotrovimab, robust PCR screenings, the national sterilisation drive, travel restrictions and greater public awareness for the drop in UAE caseloads.

Dr Ravi Arora, internal medicine specialist at NMC Specialty Hospital, Abu Dhabi, said, “The declining trend once again proves the efficacy of social distancing and recent measures like capacity curbs in public places and the disinfection drive. The dual-pronged public health measures, including awareness drives and mass vaccination campaigns, are time-tested and benchmarked strategies to control the pandemic.” 

UAE has managed to fully vaccinate 70.5 per cent of its population. Until Saturday, a total of 16.79 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered at a distribution rate of 169.82 doses per 100 people. This is the best vaccination rate in the world.

Dr Khalid Alkubaisy, internal medicine specialist at Medeor Hospital, Abu Dhabi, underlined UAE’s vigorous vaccination drive to be the reason of its success. “The lowest number of cases in July is testimony to the success of the vaccination drive. Now, with emergency use approval for the Moderna vaccine earlier in July, we have five options, with Sinopharm, Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca and Sputnik V. These are the most widely accepted vaccines for cross-border travel. The UAE is also among the leaders globally in terms of vaccination rate.”

“The UAE leadership hasn’t left any stone unturned in this fight. This sort of comprehensive approach in response to Covid is quickening the post-pandemic recovery process.”

On Saturday, the Ministry of Health and Prevention announced that 1,537 new cases were confirmed after conducting 300,637 PCR tests.

Dubai-based Dr Sulaiman Ahmed underlined that efforts of conducting the tests on a large scale is another that brought case numbers down. 

“Massive testing has been a vital part of early detection of the virus and has helped achieve unparalleled success in this fight against the pandemic. The health authorities have been conducting screenings in densely populated areas like labour accommodations, where the chances of spreading Covid infection remains high,” said Dr Ahmed, a general practitioner at Access Clinic, Al Quoz.

“We saw Abu Dhabi launch an intense testing campaign in the industrial areas. Such measures are one of the key reasons resulting in lowering of the cases from the highs of June to lowest in July.” 

Dr Sarla Kumari, internal medicine specialist at Canadian Specialist Hospital, Dubai, noted that people too have become aware in the wake of the Delta variant.

“The public is getting more aware about the new variant, which is very nasty, and can be fatal. Residents are also carefully following precautionary measures set by the UAE, like mandatory wearing of masks, safe distance and hand washing. There is reduced Covid vaccine hesitancy as the government and companies are encouraging vaccination. Also, there is a travel ban on countries with the highest number of Delta variant infections. All these factors combined help control the infection spread in the UAE.” 

Dr Arora shared the ‘4Ws’ theory to help in keeping new cases low, and in turn support healthcare workers to handle the patient load adequately. “It is imperative to reiterate the importance of traditional three Ws of Covid-19 care and now we can add the fourth: Wash your hands, watch the distance, wear the mask and will to get vaccinated.”