Coronavirus: UAE reports lowest daily cases since late December

1,452 new infections and 1,422 recoveries announced over a 24-hour period

People wait to get vaccinated at Barsha Hall in Barsha, a suburb of Dubai.

Irum Fatima Tapal gets vaccinated against Covid-19 at Barsha Hall in Dubai

Lateef Painat receives the Pfizer BioNTech shot

It was a busy first week at Barsha Hall, where 4,000 people can be vaccinated in a day

Barsha Hall has 20 check-in counters, 50 vaccination booths and five observation rooms

About 80 healthcare staff work at the site

Lateef Painat, a Dubai resident, gets ready to be vaccinated at the newly opened Barsha Hall

The UAE reported its lowest daily number of new coronavirus cases this year, with 1,452 new infections.

It is the lowest number of new infections reported on a single day since December 28 last year, when 1,027 cases were announced.

The daily caseload brought the country’s total number of infections to 543,610. Another 1,422 people beat the virus as total recoveries climbed to 523,778.

The average number of daily cases in the Emirates has stayed below the 2,000 mark since April 27.

Officials said the death toll stood at 1,626 after three deaths were reported in the past 24 hours.

There are 18,206 active cases in the Emirates.

An additional 186,370 tests were conducted over the 24-hour period. The UAE has carried out more than 46.7 million tests since the first case was reported on January 29 last year.

More than 11.4m Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered and 23,115 shots were given in the past 24 hours. The country aims to vaccinate all eligible adults by the end of 2021.

On Thursday, the UAE approved the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for children aged between 12 and 15 on an emergency basis.

The Ministry of Health and Prevention said the approval was given after the country carried out successful clinical trials and assessments.

The approval supports the national efforts to fight the pandemic and protect children in this age group.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was recently cleared for use in adolescents between 12 and 15 in the US after a trial showed it was safe and 100 per cent effective against severe disease.

On Friday, Dubai Economy fined a department store in Deira for failing to adhere to social distancing rules.

Authorities are urging the public to abide by Covid-19 safety rules during the Eid Al Fitr holidays.

Thousands of officers will be on patrol during the long weekend, while hundreds of volunteers will remind the public to take precautionary measures.