ABU DHABI — The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday recorded 236 new coronavirus cases, raising the total number of confirmed infections in the country to 57,734, the Ministry of Health and Prevention said in a statement carried by state news agency WAM.

The new cases were detected after the health authorities conducted 47,014 additional coronavirus tests, said Dr. Omar Al Hammadi, the official spokesman for the UAE government during a daily press briefing.

He also said a total of 390 more patients have completely recovered from the disease, bringing the total number of recoveries in the country to 50,354.

The spokesman announced one more from complications caused by the coronavirus infection, taking the death toll to 342.

There are 7038 patients currently undergoing medical care and treatment, according to Dr. Al Hammadi.

He indicated that the basic rate of reproduction of the virus reflects how quickly the virus spreads, explaining that the latest figure for COVID-19 rate reaches 0.74, less than 1, which reflects the efficiency of the health sector and its ability to reduce the rate of infection and the ability to break the chain of transmission, in addition to the efficiency of the policies and measures taken.

Dr. Al-Hammadi noted that with the gradual opening of the country’s economic and tourism sectors, the individual responsibility in combating the spread of the virus has doubled, and noted that those individuals who have been following three important instructions; wearing masks, maintaining the rules of personal hygiene, and following social distancing, have been providing a great service to society and the health sector.

He explained that the principle of physical distancing does not mean a social divergence, especially in light of the availability of many advanced means of communication in the world. He noted that the application of social distancing is one of the most important factors that has helped the health sector in the country to slow the speed of the spread of the virus.

Dr. Al-Hammadi added that the social and physical distancing gives more time for scientists and experts working in the field of medicine and vaccine trials to find solutions and reduces the burden on the health sector and helps workers in the field to follow up on emergency cases.

He stressed the need to maintain a distance of not less than two meters, as health and wellness at present become directly proportional to the distance of the physical spacing, stressing that in the event of an infected person coughing or sneezing, the infection risk is higher for those nearby.

Dr. Al-Hammadi pointed out that the low number of cases shows success in breaking the frequency of the spread of the virus, which is achieved through the commitment of all society.

He underlined the need to proceed with extreme caution around the elderly and those suffering from chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart, kidney and cancer, especially since some individuals may carry the virus without symptoms and warning that some cases where members of one family were all infected were due to the transmission from children to parents. — WAM