Coronavirus: UAE reports 2,742 new cases as total infections pass 400,000

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  A man wears a face mask in Al Jadaf area in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

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  A shopkeeper lights coal to burn incense to attract customers to his shop in Dubai's Spice Souq. Antonie Robertson / The National

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  A shopkeeper in Deira Souq. He fills a bag with tea leaves that he hopes to sell to tourists. Antonie Robertson / The National

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  Men talk at the Abra station near the Spice Souq. Antonie Robertson / The National

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  An almost empty street in Deira Souq. Antonie Robertson / The National

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  Pedestrians wait to cross Baniyas Street in Deira. Antonie Robertson / The National

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  A sign at the Old Souq Abra Station in Deira reminds people to wear a mask. Antonie Robertson / The National

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  People step off an abra in Dubai. Antonie Robertson / The National

The UAE reported 2,742 new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, taking the total number of infections to 402,205.

There are 13,641 active cases in the country. New infections have exceeded recoveries for a week now.

Officials said 1,691 people recovered from the virus and the overall number of recoveries was 387,278.

Another 235,797 tests were carried out in the past 24 hours across the Emirates. More than 31.5 million tests have been conducted since the pandemic began.

Another 17 deaths were recorded, pushing the number of fatalities to 1,286.

The Emirates has recorded a weekly average of 10 deaths or more since early February – three times the numbers reported for most of last year.

As of Thursday, the UAE had delivered 6,168,330 doses of Covid-19 vaccine.

In global developments, Covaxin, a vaccine made in India, was found to be 81 per cent effective against the disease in Phase 3 trials carried out by pharmaceutical company Bharat Biotech.

In the results, the company, which has its headquarters in Hyderabad, said the inactivated Covid-19 vaccine demonstrated high protection against the virus.

The trials involved 25,800 participants who received the vaccine or a placebo.