The number of COVID-19 cases in the United Arab Emirates soared past the 1,000 mark on Thursday, representing a 50 percent increase from the previous day’s figures.

The Ministry of Health and Prevention said that a total of 1,002 new COVID-19 cases were detected over the previous 24 hours – up from 665 cases on Wednesday, 452 cases on Tuesday, and 301 cases on Monday.

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It also announced on Thursday that a further 339 people have recovered from the virus. No further COVID-19 related deaths have been recorded.

A total of 2,154 people have died from the virus in the UAE since the start of the pandemic.

Wednesday’s figures are the highest since September 25 when the country reported 321 positive cases.

The country has not specified whether any of the new cases were of the omicron variant.

Meanwhile, health officials in the UAE have reassured residents that more than half of hospitals and ICU beds across the country are vacant and COVID-19 beds occupancy is less than three per cent amid a spike in coronavirus cases.

The announcement was made during this week’s UAE’s weekly COVID-19 briefing, held by the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) on Tuesday.

NCEMA said in a statement: “In light of the surge in infection rates in the country compared to previous weeks and months, we stress the health and medical situations in hospitals are stable.”

“The country is monitoring variants and adopting appropriate plans to address the, and harness all available resources.”

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