Chinese family in UAE diagnosed as first cases of virus in ME

Four members of a Chinese family who arrived in the United Arab Emirates from the city of Wuhan have been diagnosed with the new coronavirus, the first known cases in the Middle East, the UAE health ministry said yesterday.

The family members are in a stable condition and under medical observation, the ministry said in a statement carried by the state news agency. The statement did not say where the family members were being treated or when they arrived in the UAE.

The ministry and a government information office did not respond to a request for further comment. Nearly 60 cases have been reported in 15 countries outside China, including the United States, France and Singapore. Emirates, the UAE’s biggest airline, said yesterday its flights were operating normally.

The Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) health committee met yesterday in the Saudi capital Riyadh to discuss the new coronavirus and to unify Gulf efforts to prevent its spread, Bahrain’s state news agency BNA said.

Photo : Travellers wear masks as they arrive at the Dubai International Airport, after the UAE’s Ministry of Health and Community Prevention confirmed the country’s first case of coronavirus, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates