It couldn't have been a better birthday present for a nine-year-old Filipino boy in the UAE who recovered from the COVID-19 disease and has left the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Khalifa Hospital in Abu Dhabi.
Hervie Emmanuel Magos who celebrated his birthday earlier this month has become the youngest COVID-19 patient in the UAE to overcome the disease and walk out of the ICU.
UAE's youngest coronavirus patient recovers
The UAE's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Anwar Gargash tweeted a video showing Hervie walking outside the intensive care of the hospital while doctors and other medical staff cheer and clap for him.
"The recovery of the youngest coronavirus patient in the UAE who is walking outside the intensive care unit at Khalifa Hospital. The Filipino boy celebrating his ninth birthday and celebrating life," the minister wrote in the tweet.
It can be seen in the video that the limping boy is overwhelmed and surprised by the warm gesture.
Boy spent a month in the hospital before recovery
Hervie is the only child of a Filipino family living in Abu Dhabi and had spent a month at the hospital receiving treatment after he showed symptoms of coronavirus.
He was admitted to the Sheikh Khalifa Medical City on March 22 and transferred to the ICU the very next day owing to his critical condition at the time. He celebrated his 9th birthday in the ICU on April 1.
On April 11, he was transferred to the pediatrics general ward of the hospital. Hervie who has now fully recovered from COVID-19 was discharged by the hospital on Tuesday, April 21.
The doctors at the hospital expect the boy will be able to continue his normal daily routine without any hassle.
UAE close to conducting one million COVID-19 tests
Minister Gargash has confirmed that the UAE is close to conducting one million COVID-19 tests to curb the spread of the pandemic in the country. The UAE reportedly plans to test all its citizens and residents for Covid-19 infection, according to a recent report.
Coronavirus numbers in the UAE
The UAE's Ministry of Health has announced that an additional 30,000 tests were performed on Tuesday April 21 which revealed 490 new cases of COVID-19 infection bringing the total number of cases in the UAE to 7,755. The total recorded recoveries in the UAE stood at 1,443 as of April 21, with 83 cases full recovered on the day, according to the health ministry.
The ministry has also confirmed that three Asian expats who tested positive for COVID-19 had died due to complications on Tuesday, April 21, bringing the total death toll in the country to 46. The ministry expressed its condolences to the families of the deceased and said that the new patients are undergoing treatment.
According to a health sector spokesperson, the UAE has recorded a comparatively higher number of recoveries in a short period of time because most of the cases in the showed only minor symptoms.
