UAE reports 740 Covid-19 cases

One person died and 1,956 recovered from the virus in latest 24-hour reporting period

Yas Waterworld in Abu Dhabi reopened in August last year after a five-month closure. Victor Besa / The National

People fish using social distancing precautions by Business Bay Bridge in Dubai. Reem Mohammed / The National

Volunteers for the Covid-19 vaccine trial wait to be screened at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre in August 2020. Victor Besa / The National

A man buys balloons at Al Wahda Mall in Abu Dhabi. All shops and malls have safety measures in place to protect shoppers and staff. Victor Besa / The National

Shoppers maintain physical distancing and wear face masks at Al Wahda Mall. Victor Besa / The National

A shopper looks at face masks at Lulu Hypermarket, Khalidiyah Mall, Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National

Volunteers for the Covid-19 vaccine trial wait to be screened at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre in August 2020. Victor Besa / The National

A sign reminds people visiting The Pointe shopping centre on The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, to wear face masks. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Dubai residents wear face masks during their evening walk in The Gardens. Pawan Singh / The National

Socially distanced maghrib prayers in Al Khair Masjid in Dubai in July 2020. Reem Mohammed / The National

Visitors to Al Wahda Mall wear face masks. Victor Besa / The National

The UAE reported 740 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, taking its overall tally of infections to 876,624.

One person died in the past 24 hours after contracting the virus, increasing the death toll to 2,298.

Another 1,956 recoveries were recorded, bringing this total to 824,971.

The latest cases were identified as a result of 461,925 PCR tests.

The number of active cases fell to 49,355 as the trend of recoveries exceeding new infections continued.

More than 135.5 million tests have been conducted to date under a mass screening strategy aimed at limiting the spread of the virus.

Daily infection rates have declined in recent weeks, following a surge in January owing to the rise of the Omicron variant.

Wednesday's figures were a slight increase on the daily infections reported in the past three days, but are still well below last month's case numbers, which topped 3,000 on several occasions.