UAE’s daily case numbers remain at high level

The UAE exceeded its highest daily coronavirus infection numbers for a second day in a row yesterday, when 3,362 more cases were reported.

The infections were detected after 134,768 more tests.

They took the UAE’s total infections number to 239,587. Of these patients, a total of 213,149 have recovered after 2,588 more patients were declared free of the virus yesterday.

Health authorities announced that six patients died of complications related to the virus, taking the death toll to 723.

The number of active cases passed 25,000 for the first time since the pandemic was announced in March, with 25,715 people confirmed as having the virus.

In November, active cases had fallen to fewer than 2,000. The recent rise is thought to be a result of increased travel over the winter holiday period.

A nationwide vaccination campaign kicked off in December, with almost 1.4 million shots administered since. This places the UAE second worldwide for immunisations after Israel.

The national goal is to immunise 50 per cent of the population by the end of March this year.

On Tuesday, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, encouraged members of the public to be immunised.

“My message to everyone is to hasten to be vaccinated to protect our health, our economy and our achievements,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

Their message was amplified yesterday by Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, who said participation in the nationwide vaccination drive would protect Emiratis and residents.

The minister, who is also head of the Covid-19 Crisis Recovery Management and Governance Committee, said widespread immunisation would accelerate the UAE’s recovery from the pandemic’s impact on the economy.

Vaccine demand increased recently, with some clinics saying their waiting lists for inoculations had become weeks long.

Several private medical centres told The National they were fully booked until March.

Call centres were receiving hundreds of enquiries each day, and most medical facilities refer calls to an online registration point.

The Sinopharm vaccine is available at all private and government health clinics, while the Pfizer-BioNTech jabs can be taken at seven clinics in Dubai.

Some of the most senior figures in the UAE have called on residents to take the vaccine