Coronavirus: UAE reports 1,538 Covid-19 cases, 1,411 recoveries, 4 deaths

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention on Saturday reported 1,538 cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus, along with 1,411 recoveries. Four deaths were also recorded

Additional 130,567 tests were carried out, the ministry added.

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The UAE has conducted more than 11.44 million tests till date as part of the country's massive screening programmes to combat the spread of Covid-19.

As the UAE leads global efforts in developing a Covid-19 vaccine, thousands of its residents and citizens have already taken a jab - either as clinical trial volunteers or frontliners. According to the latest study published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal, BBIBP-CorV vaccine for Covid-19, which is currently undergoing phase 3 trials in the UAE, was found to be safe and had produced an immune response in Phase I and II trials. The study pointed out that the results of the Phase III trials of BBIBP-CorV vaccine in Abu Dhabi will provide information on whether this vaccine is safe and efficacious against SARS-CoV-2 infection, and for how long the protective effect is maintained.

The Phase III trials of an inactivated vaccine carried out in the UAE got 31,000 volunteers from more than 120 nationalities. On Friday morning, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation received a dose of the vaccine. It was last month that the UAE issued emergency approval for the use of the Covid-19 vaccine for frontline healthcare workers fighting the virus in the country. Earlier this week, the UAE also approved Phase III clinical trials of Russia's Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V.

Meanwhile, leading airlines and travel agents in the UAE have said that a confirmed return ticket is mandatory for visit and tourist visa holders to enter the UAE. The rules are being strictly enforced and a large group of passengers from India and Pakistan were left stranded at Dubai International Airport recently for not having confirmed return tickets.