New COVID-19 infections are streadily decreasing in the UAE after the Omicron-driven pandemic wave reached its peak. According to Dr Adel Al Sisi, chief medical officer, consultant and head of ICU at Prime Hospital, explained that Omicron came as the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially, the number of cases rises steadily until it reaches the peak. Following which new cases start decreasing until they reach a very low level.

Al Sisi pointed out that the Omicron COVID-19 wave has also begun to decline in the country. Noting that people are getting vaccinated to protect and immunise themselves against the pandemic, the official added immune response after vaccination helps in effectively tackling the infection.

"Even if people test positive after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, it doesn’t result in active serious disease and the severity will be less,” Al Sisi added.

In the UAE, the number of Omicron-driven COVID-19 cases started increasing from the second week of December 2021 and peaked around the third week of January. By the end of January, the number of new cases have started to decline. It is due to the aggressive testing regime adopted by the authorities as well as an increasing number of residents taking the booster vaccination doses to enhance their immune response against the pandemic.

The UAE has stepped up measures to curb the pandemic impact, including COVID-19 testing. Doctors noted that COVID-19 tests saw a surge after authorities implemented new rules requiring negative PCR test results for entry into federal and local govt departments in Abu Dhabi. At the same time, public schools and colleges also mandated routine PCR tests for in-person classes.

Al Sisi further expressed hope that Omicron would be the last wave of the pandemic.

According to a new study published by Capital Economics, the UAE is leading the region in implementing a successful COVID-19 booster campaign. The study took into consideration pandemic responses of other countries, noting that Omicron virus will quickly fade away in the UAE.

“The experience from other parts of the world is that these Omicron-driven virus waves will quickly fade, allowing restrictions to be loosened. This will provide a particular boost to those economies with large tourism sectors and higher levels of vaccination coverage, such as Dubai, Morocco, Oman and Bahrain,” the study said.

It added that compared to previous COVID-19 waves, deaths during Omicron have been significantly low. It is due to the robust vaccination programmes ensured by world governments to limit the impact of the COVID-19 infection.

Mohamed Saifeldin Abdelrahman Mohamed, pulmonologist at Thumbay University Hospital, noted that the UAE witnessed a surge in daily Omicron cases around 2,500-3,000 in the last few weeks.

“The numbers have not subsided but sustained for quite some time now. Besides the rising numbers, one needs to also observe that the hospitalisations and deaths are fewer compared to the peaks driven by other variants last year,” he added.