ABU DHABI — The United Arab Emirates on Saturday confirmed 705 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours after conducting 82,333 tests, raising the total number of infections to 73,471, according to the health ministry.

The country has seen a spike in daily new cases while health authorities ramp up testing efforts.

The total number of recovered cases has increased to 63,652 after 494 individuals who had previously tested positive for the virus recovered.

Meanwhile, the health ministry announced that one individual died due to COVID-19 complications, raising the death toll to 388.

The ministry expressed its sincere condolences to the family of the deceased and wished a speedy recovery to all patients, calling on the public to cooperate with health authorities and comply with all precautionary measures, particularly social distancing protocols, to ensure the safety and protection of the public.

The UAE recorded its highest daily on increase on May 22 when 994 cases were confirmed over a 24-hour period. New infections since then decreased reaching 164 on Aug. 3 then surging again to 735 new cases on Wednesday. — Agencies