UAE Covid Cases Rise Most Since September Amid Omicron Threat

(Bloomberg) -- The United Arab Emirates reported the highest number of daily Covid-19 infections since late September, as the fast-spreading omicron variant threatens a winter surge in a country that’s managed to keep a lid on the virus for most of this year.

The UAE, one of the most vaccinated countries in the world, reported 285 cases on Sunday. While that’s well below levels seen at the start of the year, daily cases had remained below a hundred a day since mid-October, even falling to a low of 48 earlier this month. 

While the UAE hasn’t yet broken down cases by variant, the Gulf nation reported its first case of the omicron strain this month. Local press in India reported on Friday that a couple traveling from the UAE tested positive for the omicron variant in the state of Kerala.

Still, deaths from Covid-19 are rare in the UAE and there haven’t been any fatalities reported since Dec. 10. High rates of testing and vaccination helped push the country to first place on Bloomberg’s Covid resilience rankings last month.

While other major cities and countries grappled with lockdowns, the UAE has so far managed to keep infections low while staying open for business. The Middle East’s trade and tourism hub of Dubai, one of the UAE’s seven emirates, has seen its economy rebound faster than expected -- property sales are at decade highs and hotel occupancy above 2019 levels.

That might be pegged back by if fresh travel restrictions kick in around the world to halt the spread of omicron. Any new curbs might also reduce visitor numbers at Dubai’s Expo 2020, one of the world’s biggest in-person events since the pandemic. 

Dubai’s benchmark stock index, which is heavy on cyclical stocks, slumped 3.6% on Sunday, the most in the Middle East.

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