UAE records two new coronavirus cases, total number reaches 11

Dubai (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates said on Friday it had registered two new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of people diagnosed with the virus in the Gulf Arab state to 11.

The new cases in the UAE were detected in a 34-year-old Filipino national and a 39-year-old Bangladeshi national who had contact with a Chinese national who had been diagnosed with the virus, the health ministry said in a statement.

It said the two were in stable condition.

More than 2,100 people have died in China from the new virus that emerged in Wuhan in December. New research suggesting the virus is more contagious than previously thought has added to the international alarm over the outbreak.

The UAE, a major international air transit centre and tourism and business hub, recorded its first coronavirus case on Jan. 28 when four members of a Chinese family were diagnosed.

It has since suspended passenger flights to mainland China, with the exception of Beijing.

Most of those diagnosed in the UAE with the virus have been Chinese citizens. Another Filipino national and one Indian national have also been infected, according to the health ministry.

Three of those previously diagnosed, all Chinese nationals, have fully recovered, the ministry has said.

The government has not disclosed where patients were being treated or which parts of the country they visited.