UAE: 39,497 Covid vaccine doses administered in 24 hours

The UAE has administered 39,497 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 22 million.

This takes the rate of doses to 222.56 doses per 100 people.

From a high of nearly 4,000 daily Covid-19 cases in the first month of 2021 to less than 50 in the last, the UAE has come a long way in its fight against Covid-19.

A robust vaccination campaign rolled out for free across the country for both Emiratis and expats has seen 100 per cent of eligible residents get at least one dose of a jab. This, along with proactive mass Covid testing and strict safety rules, has helped the country tide over the pandemic, including managing more infectious Covid-19 strains like Delta and Omicron.

Meanwhile, a South African crew member suspected of having the Omicron variant of Covid-19 is among the 17 cases of the virus detected on a cruise ship that disembarked in New Orleans over the weekend, the cruise line said on Monday.

US officials are closely monitoring the latest variant, which has been detected in at least a third of states, to try to ascertain its severity amid a rise in Covid-19 cases in recent weeks.