Coronavirus: UAE records 1,521 new cases

Another 1,474 people recovered from the virus in the past 24 hours

A new drive-through offering Covid-19 vaccination and testing has opened in Abu Dhabi.

Seha said the centre can administer 200 vaccinations and carry out 1,000 nasal swabs and laser tests per day.

The new centre was built utilising shipping containers, similar to the centres recently opened in Al Sarouj in Al Ain and Al Manhal in Abu Dhabi.

All Seha centres offer Sinopharm and Pfizer vaccines.

The new Seha-run centre in Rabdan has six lanes that cater for vaccinations, nasal swabs and DPI laser-based testing.

READ MORE: All the latest Covid-19 news on our liveblog

The UAE reported 1,521 new coronavirus cases on Friday after an additional 152,302 tests.

This brings the number of infections recorded since the start of the pandemic to 668,601.

Three more people succumbed to the infection in the past 24 hours, raising the total death toll to 1,913.

Another 1,474 people recovered from the virus, taking the number of recoveries to 646,227.

The number of active cases in the Emirates stands at 20,461.

Meanwhile, new rules by Abu Dhabi to safeguard public health have come into force.

With residents across the country enjoying the long Eid Al Adha break, new rules brought in by Abu Dhabi to safeguard public health have helped keep infection numbers under control.

Residents have had to remain indoors "unless absolutely necessary" from midnight until 5am daily, which has limited the number of gatherings during the celebratory period.

The stay home orders were issued as authorities resumed an extensive disinfection campaign to combat Covid-19.

Mass testing and one of the world's fastest vaccination programmes have also been integral to the UAE's handling of the pandemic.

More than 77 per cent of the UAE population have received one Covid-19 vaccine dose and 68 per cent are fully vaccinated.

In other parts of the world, hotel quarantine rules and restrictions on travellers entering countries for the summer holiday season are still in place to help slow the spread of the virus and variants of concern.

More than 100,000 passengers have passed through hotel quarantine in England in the five months since the system was set up.

According to National Health Service data, 114,325 travellers stayed in a UK government-approved hotel between February 15 and July 7, after arriving in the country from a red list destination.

The system, introduced while England was in its third national lockdown, is designed to prevent variants of coronavirus being imported to the UK.