Coronavirus: UAE records 2,179 new cases

Six more people die, taking the death toll to 1,710

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The UAE on Wednesday reported 2,179 new Covid-19 cases.

This took the number of infections since the pandemic began to 589,423.

Officials said 2,151 people recovered from the virus, taking the recovery total to 568,828.

Six more people died from the disease, raising the death toll to 1,710.

Another 254,412 tests were carried out in the reporting period.

On Tuesday, the health ministry said 96,659 vaccine doses were administered in the preceding 24 hours. A total of 13,507,943 doses have been given across the country.

Widespread testing and tracing, stringent safety measures and one of the world's fastest vaccination drives have brought down case numbers.

Cases have dropped since reaching close to 4,000 a day in January.

Meanwhile, the UAE's Minister of Health and Prevention, Abdulrahman Al Owais, on Wednesday said he will consider a proposal for the cost of Covid-19 testing to be covered through health insurance.

PCR tests are required to travel to Abu Dhabi from other emirates, as well as for trips abroad, while regular testing is a requirement for many employees.