UAE records 1,251 new coronavirus cases, one death

In this April 26, 2020 file photo, a commuter wearing a face mask to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, sleeps aboard the driverless Metro as it passes the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP)
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Updated 01 December 2020
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UAE records 1,251 new coronavirus cases, one death

  • Kuwait records 231 cases and 3 deaths, Bahrain reports 150 cases and 1 death

DUBAI: The UAE on Sunday recorded one death and 1,251 new coronavirus cases.

The Ministry of Health and Prevention said that the total number of cases since the pandemic began had reached 167,753, with the death toll now at 570.

The ministry added that 736 people had recovered over the previous 24 hours, bringing the total number of recoveries to 154,185.

On Saturday, Abu Dhabi Ports said that it would store and distribute 70 million coronavirus vaccines to continue to play “a vital role in the global fight against COVID-19, using its enhanced logistics capabilities.”

The vaccines will be stored at Khalifa Industrial Zone (KIZAD), a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Ports, and is part of the Hope Consortium initiative launched by Abu Dhabi last month that “aims to serve as a logistics platform to coordinate and facilitate the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine around the world.”

Jamal Mohammed Alkaabi, undersecretary of Abu Dhabi’a Department of Health, said that the emirates “continues to play a vital role within the global effort to discover a vaccine for COVID-19. And as part of those efforts, we are providing logistical capabilities that will position the UAE as a distinguished local, regional, and global distribution hub.”

Meanwhile, Robert Sutton, head of Logistics Cluster, Abu Dhabi Ports, said: “Abu Dhabi Ports’ ability in expanding capacity to receive and store clinical, pharmaceutical and life science materials at moderate and extreme temperature ranges is a testament to our commitment to offer world-class logistics solutions.

“Our Department of Health-licensed facility fully integrates the movement of cargo with state-of-the-art temperature, humidity, and refrigeration-controlled technology. Abu Dhabi Ports, through our highly advanced infrastructure and multimodal connectivity, is ready and able to meet the challenges of distributing sensitive pharmaceuticals quickly across the supply chain,” he said.

Elsewhere, Kuwait recorded 231 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the total to 142,426. The death toll reached 878 after three new fatalities were registered.

Oman’s Health Ministry said that its total number of cases had reached 123,484 and the death toll was 1,418.

In Bahrain, zero deaths was reported, keeping the toll to 341, while 142 new infected cases were confirmed.

 


Iran temporarily closes airspace to most flights

Updated 15 January 2026
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Iran temporarily closes airspace to most flights

WASHINGTON: Iran temporarily closed its airspace to all flights except international ones to and from Iran with official ​permission at 5:15 p.m. ET  on Wednesday, according to a notice posted on the Federal Aviation Administration’s website.

The prohibition is set to last for more than two hours until 7:30 p.m. ET, or 0030 GMT, but could be extended, the notice said. The United States was withdrawing some personnel from bases in the Middle East, a US official said on Wednesday, after a senior Iranian official said ‌Tehran had warned ‌neighbors it would hit American bases if ‌Washington ⁠strikes.

Missile ​and drone ‌barrages in a growing number of conflict zones represent a high risk to airline traffic. India’s largest airline, IndiGo said some of its international flights would be impacted by Iran’s sudden airspace closure. A flight by Russia’s Aeroflot bound for Tehran returned to Moscow after the closure, according to tracking data from Flightradar24.

Earlier on Wednesday, Germany issued a new directive cautioning the ⁠country’s airlines from entering Iranian airspace, shortly after Lufthansa rejigged its flight operations across the Middle ‌East amid escalating tensions in the ‍region.

The United States already prohibits ‍all US commercial flights from overflying Iran and there are no ‍direct flights between the countries. Airline operators like flydubai and Turkish Airlines have canceled multiple flights to Iran in the past week. “Several airlines have already reduced or suspended services, and most carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace,” said Safe Airspace, a ​website run by OPSGROUP, a membership-based organization that shares flight risk information.

“The situation may signal further security or military activity, ⁠including the risk of missile launches or heightened air defense, increasing the risk of misidentification of civil traffic.” Lufthansa said on Wednesday that it would bypass Iranian and Iraqi airspace until further notice while it would only operate day flights to Tel Aviv and Amman from Wednesday until Monday next week so that crew would not have to stay overnight.

Some flights could also be canceled as a result of these actions, it added in a statement. Italian carrier ITA Airways, in which Lufthansa Group is now a major shareholder, said that it would similarly suspend night flights ‌to Tel Aviv until Tuesday next week.