73-year-old woman is first to recover from coronavirus infection in UAE

DUBAI, UAE – The United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) announced on Sunday afternoon, February 9, that a woman from China, who was admitted recently to hospital care after having been confirmed to be infected with the new coronavirus, has recovered.

MoHAP said Liu Yujia had “recovered fully and can carry on with life normally.”

It could not be immediately confirmed whether or not Liu was part of the family of 4 –  a mother, father, a 9-year-old girl, and grandmother – from Wuhan on a holiday in the UAE. They were confirmed to all have the virus in late January.

The family was the first case of confirmed 2019 novel coronavirus infection in the UAE; the second, involving a male who also arrived from Wuhan, was announced by the government in the evening of February 1; the 3rd and 4th, involving a Filipino and another Chinese national, were announced in the morning of February 8.

With the recovery of the 73-year-old Liu, the total number of 2019 nCoV cases in the UAE is 6 people.

Meantime, the state-run Emirates News Agency, (ENA), accompanied Consul General Li Xuhang of China and MoHAP’s Assistant Undersecretary for Health Centers and Clinics, Dr Hussein Al Rand, who visited the grandmother, who congratulated her on her full recovery.

The Chinese national expressed her gratitude and appreciation to the UAE for the great care and medical attention she received.

Liu said she was thankful for the care provided by the UAE’s healthcare authorities to her family members as well who were also tested positive for the new coronavirus.

“I would like to thank the Consul General of China and the representative of UAE’s Ministry of Health for their visit,” she added.

Consul General Zuhang told ENA that the “UAE leadership, government, and people have demonstrated the true meaning of solidarity with the People’s Republic of China in confronting this latest outbreak.”

The results of the 2019-nCoV detection test conducted on the patient “turned out negative of the new coronavirus. She is now in a good health and fully recovered,” he said. 

Dr Al Rand said the other patients diagnosed to be afflicted with the 2019 nCoV “are receiving proper health care in accordance with leading World Health Organization standards, with each individual case being monitored until full recovery is attained.”

“This case of the Chinese lady increases hope that other discovered cases in the UAE can also be fully recovered,” he said. – Rappler.com