Coronavirus: UAE records 1,609 new cases

The UAE reported 1,609 new coronavirus cases and 1,584 recoveries on Saturday. Officials said one person died in the past 24 hours from complications. The country has recorded 961,345 cases, 941,637 recoveries and 2,323 deaths since the first Covid-19 case was detected in the Emirates on January 29, 2020. Widespread testing and tracing, stringent safety measures and a high vaccination rate have been credited for dramatically reducing deaths. Cases have dropped since reaching close to 4,000 a day in January 2021. An additional 230,353 tests were conducted over the 24-hour period, bringing the total number carried out since the beginning of the outbreak to more than 172 million. In the UK, Covid-19 cases are continuing to rise, with the number of cases increasing by 18 per cent in the past week. In England, one in 25 people now have the virus — up from one in 30 last week, according to the Office for National Statistics, which estimates 2.7 million people had the virus last week . The figures are worse in Scotland, with one in 17 people having the virus, and in Wales one in 20. The numbers are being driven by the milder but more infectious Omicron BA.5 variant.

Coronavirus: UAE records 1,609 new cases

Another 1,584 people recovered over a 24-hour period