Coronavirus: UAE records 1,278 new cases and 1,606 recoveries

The number of active cases in the country fell to a 205-day low of 2,903

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid receives the Sinopharm vaccine to protect against Covid-19 on November 3, 2020. Courtesy: Dubai Media Office

Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak receives the first of two shots of a vaccine that was trialled in the UAE. Wam

Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed, chairman of Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management, receives the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Courtesy: Sheikh Mansoor

Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth, gets the Sinopharm jab.

Mohammad Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, receives the Covid-19 Sinopharm vaccine on Saturday, October 31. Courtesy: UAE Government Twitter

Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah, receives his first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on Wednesday. Wam

Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, takes the Sinopharm vaccine. Courtesy: Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Twitter

Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah, UAE Fatwa Council, is vaccinated with the Sinopharm innoculation on January 4, 2021. Wam

Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed, chair of Abu Dhabi's Executive Office, takes the first dose of the Sinopharm vaccine. Courtesy: Abu Dhabi Media Office

The UAE's health minister, Abdulrahman Al Owais, receives the Sinopharm vaccine.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, gives a thumbs up as he is vaccinated against Covid-19.

Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, president of the UAE Football Association, receives the Covid-19 vaccine.

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

Lt Col Sheikh Zayed bin Hamad Al Nahyan, director of special patrols at Abu Dhabi Police, receives the Covid-19 vaccine. Courtesy: Abu Dhabi Police    

Maj Gen Mohammed Al Marri, director general of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs Dubai, receives his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Courtesy: Dubai Media Office

Maj Gen Talal Al Falasi, director general of Dubai's State Security Department, receives his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Courtesy: Dubai Media Office

Abdullah Al Falasi, director general of Dubai Government Human Resources Department, receives his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Courtesy: Dubai Media Office

Amer Sharif, head of Dubai's Covid-10 Command and Control Centre, receives his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Courtesy: Dubai Media Office

Obaid Al Shamsi, director general of the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority, takes the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine

The UAE reported 1,278 new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, taking the total tally of infections to 133,907.

Health officials said 1,606 patients were cleared of the virus. So far, the country has recorded 130,508 recoveries.

One death was announced, taking the total number of mortalities to 496.

The latest infections were identified as a result of 112,546 tests conducted in the past 24 hours.

Almost 13.3 million Covid-19 tests have been performed in the UAE to date.

The number of active cases across the country fell to a 205-day low of 2,903 after more recoveries exceeded new cases in the past couple of weeks. The last time the number of active cases fell below 3,000 was on April 10.

Daily cases remained above 1,000 for all but two days of October, including a record high of 1,578 on October 22.

Recoveries have consistently outstripped new cases, however, topping 1,000 every day last month.

On Saturday, Mohammad Al Gergawi, the Minister of Cabinet Affairs, became the latest minister to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.

Other ministers to have been inoculated include Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, and Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, the Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence.

The jab has been administered to frontline medical workers, senior officials and some members of the Cabinet since receiving approval for limited use in the UAE in September.

Large Phase 3 tests showed the vaccine is safe and generates antibodies that fight the virus.

In Europe, more countries announced lockdowns after a surge in cases.

Minutes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a new lockdown for England, Portugal’s Prime Minister Antonio Costa said 70 per cent of the population of his country would be going back into lockdown.

Austria also announced a second lockdown on Saturday, and Greece said it would enter a partial one.

Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said it was time to act “before intensive care units buckle under the strain of lives in danger”.

Restaurants and bars, gyms, museums and cinemas in Athens and other large cities will be closed from Tuesday.

The announcement came a day after France started its second lockdown and Belgium said it would tighten restrictions to combat rising infections.

Globally, Covid-19 cases have passed 46 million, while recoveries exceeded 33.5 million. The world death toll has passed 1.2 million.