UAE records 1,061 new cases as it passes 100,000 mark

Six deaths were recorded – the highest single-day figure since May

People walk around in the Al Karama area of Dubai as life in the UAE beings to resemble pre-pandemic times. All photos: Pawan Singh / The National

The country has got to grips with curbing the spread of Covid-19.

The UAE registered its lowest daily tally of new Covid-19 infections in 20 months.

More than 100 million coronavirus tests have been conducted in the UAE to date.

People wearing masks are out shopping in the Al Karama area of Dubai.

The UAE's extensive vaccination campaign has been widely credited with helping to drive down case numbers.

New daily cases have remained below 100 for five weeks.

Authorities confirmed last week that 100 per cent of the eligible population had now received at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose.

More than 90 per cent of the UAE population are fully vaccinated.

A masked worker pushes a trolley laden with water bottles in the Al Karama area of Dubai.

Social distancing stickers pasted at a bus stop serve as a warning to travellers in Dubai.

People shopping in the Al Karama area of Dubai.

The UAE reported 1,061 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, as it passed the 100,000 mark.

Health officials said six people died, the highest single-day figure since May, taking the toll to 435.

The number of recoveries reached 90,556, with a further 1,146 patients given all-clear by the authorities.

The latest infections were detected after 102,349 tests were carried out in the past 24 hours.

The Emirates has carried out more than 10.2 million coronavirus tests since the beginning of the outbreak and recorded 100,794 cases.

On Tuesday, Dubai Economy shut down the office of a property company for flouting social-distancing rules.

Inspectors from the agency's Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection Sector carried out raids and issued fines to six commercial establishments for not adhering to face-mask rules.

Two other businesses were hit with fines for overcrowding in their premises.

The businesses were in the Muraqqabat and Naif area of Deira and Al Thanyah.

Another shop was warned for not placing floor marking to help customers maintain physical distancing.

Meanwhile, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the US public health agency, said Covid-19 could spread through tiny particles that can linger in the air for hours.

The CDC has until now not made a direct link about the role airborne transmission is playing in the spread of the virus.

But on Tuesday the health agency said aerosolised virus particles can, and do, infect others under "certain circumstances".

The new guidance acknowledged the virus can linger in the air – although it insists such transmission remains “uncommon”.

On Monday, the head of emergencies at the World Health Organisation estimated that roughly one in 10 people worldwide (of 7.8 billion population) may have been infected by the coronavirus.

More than 35 million cases of Covid-19 have been registered worldwide but WHO estimates the actual figures maybe more than 20 times the official count.

Globally, more than 24.6 million have recovered from the virus while the death toll has crossed the one-million mark.