Coronavirus: 277 new Covid-19 cases in the UAE but no deaths recorded

Officials say 179 patients recovered from the virus, adding to a recovery tally of 57,372

Yas Waterworld in Abu Dhabi reopened in August last year after a five-month closure. Victor Besa / The National

People fish using social distancing precautions by Business Bay Bridge in Dubai. Reem Mohammed / The National

Volunteers for the Covid-19 vaccine trial wait to be screened at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre in August 2020. Victor Besa / The National

A man buys balloons at Al Wahda Mall in Abu Dhabi. All shops and malls have safety measures in place to protect shoppers and staff. Victor Besa / The National

Shoppers maintain physical distancing and wear face masks at Al Wahda Mall. Victor Besa / The National

A shopper looks at face masks at Lulu Hypermarket, Khalidiyah Mall, Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National

Volunteers for the Covid-19 vaccine trial wait to be screened at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre in August 2020. Victor Besa / The National

A sign reminds people visiting The Pointe shopping centre on The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, to wear face masks. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Dubai residents wear face masks during their evening walk in The Gardens. Pawan Singh / The National

Socially distanced maghrib prayers in Al Khair Masjid in Dubai in July 2020. Reem Mohammed / The National

Visitors to Al Wahda Mall wear face masks. Victor Besa / The National

A further 277 coronavirus infections were detected on Thursday following an additional 68,964 Covid-19 tests conducted across the UAE.

The infections raised the country's tally to 63,489 since January.

Officials said 179 patients recovered from the virus, adding to a recovery tally of 57,372.

The country also marked a second straight day without a Covid-19 death, leaving the death static at 358.

More than 5.7 million Covid-19 tests have been carried out across the UAE since the outbreak.

The number of daily new cases has been on a steady decline since July 9 but officials called for strict compliance to Covid-19 guidelines.

On Thursday, authorities said more than 15,000 volunteers had received their first of two doses of the proposed Covid-19 vaccine as part of the phase 3 clinical trial being held in the UAE.

Volunteers from 107 nationalities signed up to test the inactive vaccine, which contains a dead version of Covid-19, meeting the required number of subjects for the trial.

The eligible volunteers will be inoculated with the second vaccine within the next few weeks.

Thousands of volunteers signed up but not all were eligible because they did not meet criteria for the testing. Eligible volunteers must have no pre-existing health conditions, including asthma, cardiovascular diseases, kidney disease or malignant tumours. They should not have experienced a fever, dry cough, fatigue, nasal obstruction or a runny nose for at least 14 days before they took the first shot.

The vaccine was developed by pharmaceutical company Sinopharm, based in China, where phases 1 and 2 of the trials were successfully conducted.

The UAE is involved through an agreement with technology company Group 42 and was chosen for the third phase for its demographic diversity.