Coronavirus: UAE reports 1,621 new infections

The country now has 17,187 active cases

The UAE reported 1,621 new coronavirus cases and 1,605 recoveries on Thursday.

Officials said no one died in the past 24 hours from complications.

The country has recorded 933,688 cases, 914,192 recoveries and 2,309 deaths since the pandemic began.

There are 17,187 active cases in the country.

The latest cases were identified from 325,016 tests. More than 168 million tests have been carried out to date.

Widespread testing and a high vaccination rate are credited for bringing down the number of new daily infections but case numbers have risen in recent weeks and have topped 1,000 a day since June 9. They were below 200 in early May.

Earlier this week, doctors told The National that complacency was leading to the increase in numbers.

They said people with symptoms of coronavirus who avoid taking a test must shoulder much of the blame for the rising number of cases.

Some patients are writing symptoms off as flu and do not take a test or isolate at home, they said.

Other factors in the spread of infection include new variants of the virus, more socialising indoors as temperatures increase, fewer people wearing masks and waning immunity from vaccines.

“The rise in cases is due to a casual attitude towards Covid-19 protocols,” said Dr Ahmed Khairy, head of the department of internal medicine at NMC Royal Hospital in Abu Dhabi.

People are being urged to not let their guard down and follow precautionary measures to stem the spread of the virus.