Covid-19: UAE administers 53,859 vaccine shots, records 2,950 new cases

The UAE announced on Friday that it administered 53,859 coronavirus vaccine shots over the past 24 hours, bringing to 941,556 the total number of shots given so far across the nation.

The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP), which aims to vaccinate more than 50 per cent of the country’s population against Covid-19 in the first quarter of 2021, also announced the launch of a national campaign to encourage people to get vaccinated, specially the elderly, and people with chronic diseases, official news agency WAM reported.

The UAE rolled out the Sinopharm vaccination programme last month for the public following Phase III trials. Dubai has also started its vaccination campaign using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine – being held in phases.

Read: Covid-19: All you need to know about Dubai’s Pfizer vaccination campaign

The nation has seen an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in the recent weeks.

On Friday, MoHAP announced 2,950 new coronavirus cases – the second highest ever recorded in the country, bringing the total number of recorded infections in the UAE to 224,704.

The cases were detected after the ministry conducted 166,435 additional Covid-19 tests.

The infected individuals are from various nationalities, are in a stable condition, and receiving the necessary care.

MoHAP also announced three deaths due to Covid-19 complications, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 697.

An additional 2,218 individuals also fully recovered from the virus, bringing the total number of recoveries to 201,396.

In a statement, the ministry stressed its aim to continue expanding the scope of testing nationwide to facilitate the early detection of coronavirus cases and carry out the necessary treatment.

It also urged the public to cooperate with health authorities and adhere to the precautionary measures.