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The United Arab Emirates announced Wednesday its first case of the new coronavirus, in a family from Wuhan, in what is thought to be the first confirmed case in the Middle East.
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“The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention announced a case of the new coronavirus affecting people from one family coming from the city of Wuhan in China,” the state news agency WAM reported, without saying how many were infected.
“The health condition of those affected was stable and under medical monitoring,” it cited the ministry as saying.
Gulf airports, including Dubai which is home to one of the worlds biggest aviation hubs, said last week they would screen all passengers arriving from China amid the outbreak of the deadly virus.
The disease has spread to more than 15 countries since it emerged out of Wuhan late last year, with the death toll soaring to 132 and confirmed infections nearing 6,000.
First apparent case in Middle East
All confirmed fatalities have so far been in China. Confirmed cases have been reported across the Asia Pacific region and in North America and Europe, but the Wuhan family in the UAE appear to be the first in the Middle East.
Dubais government said Thursday that some 989,000 Chinese tourists visited the glitzy emirate last year – a number expected to cross the one million mark in 2020.
About 3.6 million Chinese transited through the emirates main airport in 2019.
The UAEs Abu Dhabi International Airport, another major hub, has also begun screening passengers arriving from China.
Between them, the two Emirati hubs operate dozens of flights a week with Chinese citRead More – Source
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