A further 1,215 coronavirus cases were detected across the Emirates on Sunday. The infections were reported after another 115,293 Covid-19 tests were carried out. At least 1,162 more patients were given the all-clear, which in the UAE requires testing negative twice in a row. The country's total recoveries now stand at 107,516. Four patients died of the virus, raising the death toll to 463. There are now 7,623 active cases of Covid-19 in the country. Cases have been above 1,000 for all but one day in October. On Saturday, 1,538 new cases of the virus were reported – the highest number of daily infections in the Emirates to date. Despite the increase in daily cases, which dropped as low as 164 on August 4, the number of active cases have been steadily decreasing from more than 10,000 on October 4. The highest number of active cases in the UAE was 17,031 on June 5. The UAE has made a concerted effort to curb the spread of Covid-19, at home and abroad. About 11.7 million Covid-19 tests have been conducted across the country since the outbreak began. A campaign to enforce safety measures in public places and at home has been under way since August, with fines issued to anyone found flouting regulations. Clinical trials for two Covid-19 vaccines are also being conducted in the UAE. Last week, authorities said Russia's Sputnik V vaccine would be tested in the Emirates, months after the UAE was chosen as a partner for Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm's Phase 3 trial. More than 31,000 volunteers in the UAE took part in trials for the Sinopharm vaccine before the Ministry of Health and Prevention approved it for emergency use for frontline health workers. Since then, several officials have also been vaccinated. Minister of Health and Prevention Abdulrahman Al Owais was the first to receive the inoculation and Obaid Al Shamsi, director general of the National Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Management Authority also received the vaccine. At the weekend, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, and Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth, were vaccinated. "Thank you Nurse Ozma, from Lahore. She [has] been working in the UAE for the past 18 years," said Ms Al Kaabi. Sheikh Khalid bin Mohamed, chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Office, has also been vaccinated against Covid-19.
