UAE records lowest daily Covid-19 tally for four months

Daily infection rates have declined significantly, having topped 1,800 in July

Al Wahda Mall security staff check the Al Hosn app of visitors at the entrance. All photos: Victor Besa / The National

The UAE has passed the 1 million mark for Covid-19 cases.

More than 184 million tests have been conducted to date.

The UAE is the 68th country to exceed 1 million infections, data shows.

Case numbers in the Emirates have declined in recent weeks after a surge in infection rates in June.

Mass screening and an extensive vaccination strategy have been key to efforts to curb the spread of the virus.

There have been more than 590 million cases across the world.

Stay-at-home measures and deep-cleaning operations were introduced in the early stages of the outbreak.

Offices and schools were closed as a precautionary measure and flights were grounded when the coronavirus first broke out in early 2020.

Authorities introduced physical distancing and made the wearing of face masks in public mandatory.

Safety measures have been gradually eased in recent months to support a return to normality.

The UAE recorded 355 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, bringing its overall number of infections to 1,025,568.

A further 362 people recovered from the virus, taking this tally to 1,004,943.

No coronavirus-related deaths were reported in the past 24 hours, with the toll remaining at 2,343.

The latest cases were identified as a result of an additional 206,017 PCR tests.

About 189.7 million tests have been conducted to date under a mass screening strategy aimed at limiting the spread of the disease.

Daily infection rates have declined significantly in recent months, having topped 1,800 in early July.

Sunday's caseload was the lowest since May 24, when 317 positive tests were confirmed.

Daily case numbers have remained below 500 since August 31.

Nearly 615 million Covid-19 cases have been confirmed across the world since the virus emerged in late 2019, with more than 6.5 million deaths.

The World Health Organisation declared the outbreak a pandemic in March 2020.

But the global health body believes there is cause for optimism in the world’s fight against the virus.

“We are not there yet. But the end is in sight,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters at a virtual press conference last week.

Comprehensive vaccination drives have helped stem the spread of the virus, slowing death rates and reducing hospital admissions.

President Joe Biden has declared the pandemic over in the US, although coronavirus-related deaths in the country continue to rise.