Coronavirus: UAE reports 2,930 new Covid-19 cases on highest day of testing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The UAE reported 2,930 new Covid-19 infections on Sunday on the country's highest day for testing to date.

A total of 226,139 PCR and DPI screenings were carried out over the preceding 24 hours.

New cases exceeded recoveries for a third consecutive day after 1,517 people were cleared of the virus.

This raised total recoveries to 381,225, or 97 per cent of the 391,524 cases diagnosed since the outbreak.

Another eight patients died of related complications, taking the death toll to 1,221.

With infections outstripping recoveries again, the number of active cases increased to 9,078. It was an increase of 1,405 from Saturday.

The number of patients battling Covid-19 dropped to 5,421 on Thursday, which was the lowest figure for 15 weeks.

The Ministry of Health and Prevention said the "infected individuals, from various nationalities, are in a stable condition, and receiving the necessary care".

More than 30.6 million screenings for Covid-19 have been carried out across the country over the past 13 months as part of a robust testing drive.

The UAE is among the top countries for testing per capita. This early-detection strategy has continued throughout the outbreak, with authorities launching a nationwide vaccination drive late last year as part of efforts to curb the spread of the virus.

Since the vaccination campaign began, more than 6.02m doses have been administered with a rate of 60.87 per 100 people.

At least 5,372 doses were administered over the preceding 24 hours on Sunday.

China's Sinopharm vaccine was approved for use for all members of the public in the country on December 9.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, a collaboration between US pharmaceutical company Pfizer and the German biotech company BioNTech, was registered in Dubai two weeks later as part of a phased campaign initially focused on vulnerable groups and key workers.

Russia's Sputnik V vaccine was approved for emergency use in January.

Dubai authorised the use of the Swedish-British Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine this month.