UAE reports 660 new Covid-19 cases

Another 689 people overcame the coronavirus and no deaths were recorded

Billboards along Sheikh Zayed Road thanking the Covid vaccine volunteers for the Phase 3 trials conducted in the UAE. Antonie Robertson / The National

A man receives a dose of a vaccine against the coronavirus disease in Dubai. Reuters

People queue for the vaccine near DIFC in Dubai. AFP

The DPI screening centre on the border between Dubai and Abu Dhabi is quick and results are out in a matter of minutes. Antonie Robertson / The National

A woman receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at Zabeel Health Centre in Dubai. EPA

Guru Nanak Darbar Gurudwara partnered with Tamouh Health Care to provide on-site Sinopharm Vaccination for all residents of the UAE free of charge in February. Pawan Singh / The National

UAE residents receive their vaccine free of charge in February. Pawan Singh / The National

The UAE recorded 660 Covid-19 cases on Sunday, raising its tally of infections since the outbreak to 1,009,776.

The latest infections were detected as a result of an additional 213,603 PCR tests.

Another 689 people overcame the virus, raising the number of recoveries to 988,147.

There were no coronavirus-related deaths in the 24-hour reporting period, with the toll remaining at 2,341.

More than 181.8 million tests have been conducted to date.

A robust screening strategy remains key to the UAE's fight against the pandemic.

Testing levels across the country are still high ― typically exceeding 200,000 a day ― and reached a peak period in January when they topped 500,000.

Britain last week became the first country in the world to approve a Covid-19 vaccine that targets both the original and Omicron variants.

The UK medicines regulator, the MHRA, approved the vaccine made by US drug company Moderna as a booster for adults.

The agency's decision was based on clinical trial data that showed the booster triggered “a strong immune response” against both Omicron (BA.1) and the original virus, it said.