The United Arab Emirates said it registered a “limited” number of cases of the new Covid-19 strain and reported 1,506 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, among the highest daily infections since the start of the outbreak.
The country has one of the highest testing rates relative to population.
The reported cases of the new virus strain were detected in travellers from abroad, according to the official Twitter account of the government, which didn’t specify the exact number.
It said: “In light of the emergence of the new emerging strain of the coronavirus in Britain, and in conjunction with the continuous investigations by the health sector, it has been proven that there are limited cases in the country and received from abroad.”
Abu Dhabi and Dubai, sheikhdoms within the UAE, have lifted several Covid-related restrictions and reopened their doors to tourism to try to recover from the pandemic’s impact.
Updates from the #UAE Government media briefing today. #committowin pic.twitter.com/sjJskoaRKR
— NCEMA UAE (@NCEMAUAE) December 29, 2020
According to the weekly update from the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA UAE), from December 23 to 29, more than 900,000 examinations were conducted across the country, and the number of confirmed cases was 8,491 – the rate of positive cases out of the total number of examinations remains at one percent.
From those tests the mortality rate was 0.3 percent, which is one of the lowest rates in the world.
Dubai aims to vaccinate 70 percent of the population by end-2021
The Gulf nation has started inoculating the public with vaccines developed by Sinopharm unit China National Biotec Group as well as Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE’s shot.
The total number of Covid-19 cases across the country reached 204,369 on Tuesday, while the number of recoveries stands at 181,400 patients and the number of deaths, 662.
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