An additional 1,230 cases of Covid-19 were detected across the Emirates on Friday, after another 143,901 tests were conducted. They brought the country's total cases to 199,665. Recoveries exceeded new infections for the fifth consecutive day with 1,386 more patients cleared of the virus. Total recoveries have reached 175,865 since January, dropping active cases on Friday to 23,147. Active cases had peaked at 24,173 on December 21, after dipping as low as 1,822 on November 4. Health authorities said six patients died of related complications, raising the death toll to 653. The UAE is carrying out one of the world's most extensive screening campaigns per capita with more than than 19.9 million Covid-19 tests conducted across the country since the outbreak. The recovery rate stands at 88 per cent and the death rate is 0.3 per cent - among the lowest in the world. Two free and voluntary vaccinations against Covid-19 are available in the UAE. Sinopharm's vaccine, that includes a killed version of the virus, is on offer across the country. It is administered in two doses over 28 days and is 86 per cent effective, according to UAE regulators. And the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is authorised for use in Dubai, where authorities have set out priority groups for inoculation before the jab is made available to the wider public. This vaccine contains a piece of genetic code that trains the immune system to recognise the spiked protein on the surface of the virus.
