Coronavirus: UAE records 78 new cases from 272,261 tests

A further 110 people recovered over a 24-hour period

The UAE continues to distribute vaccines at a rapid pace. AFP

Dubai residents waiting to receive their first dose of Sinopharm's Covid-19 vaccine in Jebel Ali. Pawan Singh / The National

The Emirates Group launched a Covid-19 vaccination programme for staff in the UAE in January. Photo: The Emirates Group

Khalifa bin Dary, executive director of Dubai Ambulance Services Corporation, receives his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine. Photo: Dubai Media Office

Abdullah Al Falasi, director general of Dubai Government Human Resources Department, receives his first dose. Photo: Dubai Media Office

A billboard on Sheikh Zayed Road thanks volunteers for the Covid-19 vaccine trials being conducted in the UAE. Antonie Robertson / The National

A woman receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at Zabeel Health Centre. EPA

The UAE reported 78 new coronavirus cases and 10 recoveries on Monday.

Officials said no one died in the past 24 hours from Covid-19 complications.

The country has recorded 739,983 cases, 734,242 recoveries and 2,136 deaths since the first Covid-19 case was detected in the Emirates on January 29 last year.

Widespread testing and tracing, stringent safety measures and a high vaccination rate have been credited for bringing down daily infections.

Cases have dropped to consistently below 100 since reaching close to 4,000 a day in January.

There are currently 3,605 active cases.

An additional 272,261 tests were conducted over the 24-hour period, bringing to 93,641,439 the total number carried out since the beginning of the outbreak.

Meanwhile, the UAE has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for children aged between 5 and 11 on an emergency basis.

Authorities said clinical studies showed the vaccine provided a strong and safe immune response.

Dr Hussain Al Rand, assistant undersecretary for public health at the Ministry of Health and Prevention, said the results achieved by the national vaccination campaign had helped the country to move towards recovery and a return to normality.

Until now, Sinopharm was the sole UAE-approved vaccine for young children aged 3 to 11.

A significant number of children aged between 12 and 17 have already received either Sinopharm or Pfizer, which were approved for teenagers earlier this year.