UAE: 7,224 vaccine doses administered in 24 hours

The UAE has administered 7,224 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 24.6 million.

This takes the rate of doses to 249.09 doses per 100 people.

The daily tally of Covid-19 cases in Shanghai, which is at the centre of China’s epidemic, has fallen slightly, authorities said on Friday, as the city’s lockdown threatened to exact a heavier toll on the world’s second-biggest economy.

China’s automakers may have to suspend production next month if suppliers in Shanghai and surrounding areas can’t resume work, the chief executive officer of electric-car maker Xpeng said, while airlines and the property sector are also feeling the pain.

Shanghai, which is battling China’s worst Covid-19 outbreak since the virus emerged in the city of Wuhan in late 2019, reported 23,000 Covid cases on Friday, down from more than 27,000 the day before.

Hong Kong will ease some social distancing measures later this month, allowing people to dine in at restaurants in the evening and lifting restrictions on private gatherings, as the number of Covid-19 infections declined in recent weeks.

From April 21, restaurants will be able to operate until 10pm with a maximum of four people per table, officials said.

• UAE