DUBAI (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates recorded its highest daily total of coronavirus infections on Thursday since the start of the outbreak, with 1,158 new cases.
The Gulf Arab state had registered a record 1,100 cases in 24 hours on Wednesday. Daily infection numbers have surged over the past two months from 164 on Aug. 3. Authorities have blamed people’s poor adherence to social distancing measures.
The UAE has a high per capita rate of COVID-19 tests. The country of around 9.9 million people has carried out 9,798,960 tests so far, the government statistics authority says.
The UAE’s nationwide tally stands at 95,348 infections and 421 deaths. The government does not disclose where in the seven emirates they occur.
(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell and Lisa Barrington Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Frances Kerry)
