Middle East

Abu Dhabi says ends partial lockdown

DUBAI, Aug 19 (Reuters) – Abu Dhabi emirate, the second-most populous in the United Arab Emirates, will on Thursday end a partial lockdown imposed last month as part of efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 variants, the government’s media office said in a Twitter post.

It cited the Abu Dhabi Emergency Crisis and Disasters Committee as saying restrictions on movement of traffic and the public from midnight until 5 a.m. are ending after achieving their objective.

The UAE, a federation of seven emirates, has seen daily coronavirus infections fall to 1,089 cases on Wednesday from around 2,000 in June and a peak of nearly 4,000 in January. It does not give a breakdown for each emirate.

The Gulf state, a regional tourism and business hub, has among the world’s highest immunization rates with latest health ministry data showing 83.14 percent of the population receiving one COVID-19 vaccine dose and 73.42 percent fully vaccinated.

The UAE, which has approved five types of COVID-19 vaccines, said earlier this month it would start providing a booster shot to all fully vaccinated individuals.

Reporting by Ghaida Ghantous; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise

A general view of the Abu Dhabi skyline is seen, December 15, 2009.

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