Coronavirus: UAE reports highest daily cases in 12 weeks

No deaths were reported in the past 24 hours

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  A woman receives a dose of the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine at the Sikh temple in Jebel Ali. All photos: Pawan Singh / The National

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  Guru Nanak Darbar Gurudwara in Jebel Ali teamed up with Tamouh Healthcare to provide on-site Sinopharm vaccination for all UAE residents free of charge.

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  Guru Nanak Darbar hosted an event at the Sikh temple in Dubai to vaccinate 4,500 adults of various nationalities and religions in February.

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  A medic administers a shot of Sinopharm vaccine at the temple in Jebel Ali.

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  People wait to receive a shot of the Sinopharm vaccine at the temple.

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The UAE reported 285 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, taking the total number of infections to 744,137.

It was on September 27 that 286 cases were reported.

Another 131 people beat the virus, bringing the recovery total to 738,636.

No further deaths linked to the virus were reported in the past 24 hours, with the total number of fatalities remaining at 2,151.

The daily cases were identified from 310,797 tests.

More than 106 million PCR tests have been carried out in the country since the pandemic began in January 2020.

Health officials said more than 22.2 million Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in the past year.

According to official data, 100 per cent of the eligible population has received one vaccine dose, while 91.35 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Cases dropped to low-40s in the past weeks but have risen back to more than 200 in recent days.

With the slight increase in daily infections, new safety checks designed to identify commuters with Covid-19 came into effect at the Abu Dhabi-Dubai border from Sunday morning.

Police have been stationed near Ghantoot on the E11 motorway in the latest measures to control the spread of new cases.

Motorists stop at a checkpoint and officers use a mobile phone app to scan for signs of fever and other symptoms of Covid-19.

Anyone found to have signs of the virus is sent for a free antigen test at a nearby screening centre, with the results ready in 20 minutes.

The capital's new border controls mean a partial return to the border checks that were in place between July 2020 and September 2021.