All private hospitals in Abu Dhabi free of Covid-19 cases

All private hospitals in Abu Dhabi are free of Covid-19 cases, the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH) confirmed on Tuesday.

It also announced that Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) does not have any coronavirus cases and will resume its status as a provider of specialised healthcare services to non-Covid patients.

DoH has designated Al Rahba Hospital in Abu Dhabi as a dedicated hospital for infectious diseases including for Covid-19 patients.

The announcement comes after “rigorous inspections that demonstrated a significant decline in infection cases across SKMC”, a statement said.

The decline in cases was attributed to an increase in vaccination rates and expanded efforts in adhering to precautionary and preventative measures to limit the spread of the virus.

Meanwhile Al Rahba hospital has increased its bed capacity and now has more than 250 bed including 140 dedicated to acute care, 37 beds assigned to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and 73 to surge care.

Dr Tarek Fathey, group CEO of SEHA said that the hospital has been renovated and expanded to provide safe and fully equipped facilities.

“Al Rahba will be under SKMC, due to its in depth experience and legacy in advanced patient care as well as its crucial role in curbing the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.

Dr Jamal Mohammed Alkaabi, undersecretary of the DoH said: “National efforts uniting the public and private sectors were instrumental in Sheikh Khalifa Medical City effectively dealing with the pandemic and allowing them to continue their operations safely and effectively. We are very proud to work hand in hand with SEHA to provide the highest quality of healthcare for all members of the community in line with international standards.”

DoH added that hospital admission for Covid-19 cases in the next period will be limited to Al Rahba Hospital in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain Hospital in Al Ain City and other field hospitals across the emirate.

The UAE has seen a drastic drop in the number of coronavirus cases in recent weeks. It reported 74 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, taking the total infection count to 740,057.

The health ministry also reported one death and 106 recoveries in the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 2,137 and the total number of recoveries to 734,348.