UAE: 17,208 Covid vaccine doses administered in 24 hours

The UAE has administered 17,208 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine in the past 24 hours.

The country's Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) said the total doses administered now stand at 21.8 million.

This takes the rate of doses to 220.77 per 100 people.

Health officials said Sunday they had detected the Covid Omicron strain in Australia for the first time in two passengers who were tested after flying into Sydney from southern Africa.

The eastern state of New South Wales’ health authority said it had conducted urgent genomic testing and confirmed the new strain was present in the two people who landed in Sydney on Saturday.

Both passengers came from southern Africa and arrived in Australia on a Qatar Airways flight via Doha, NSW Health said in a statement.

New omicron version of coronavirus results in mild disease, without major syndromes, Angelique Koetzi, president of the South African Medical Association, told Sputnik on Saturday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday identified the new South African strain as a cause for concern, as it has a high number of mutations – 32 – which could make it more contagious and dangerous. The WHO has dubbed it omicron, the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet.