Coronavirus: UAE records 1,519 new cases

Mass testing and one of the world's fastest vaccination drives have been integral to the UAE's curbing of the pandemic

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.

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The UAE reported 1,519 new cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday after an additional 191,032 tests.

The latest caseload brings the number of infections recorded since the start of the pandemic to 686,981.

Five people died of Covid-related causes in the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 1,965.

Another 1,470 people overcame the virus, taking the number of recoveries to 664,130.

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

Cases have dropped sharply in the UAE over the past few months after reaching close to 4,000 in January.

The UAE, meanwhile, has recommended that high-risk people who have been fully vaccinated may receive their booster dose three months after taking their second shot of a Covid-19 vaccine.

For all others, there should be a gap of six months between the second shot and the booster.

The government announced the policy at the Covid-19 weekly briefing on Tuesday.