By Joanne Serrieh

DUBAI -- The United Arab Emirates has detected 462 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours after 28,000 tests were administered within plans to expand the country's testing capacity, the health ministry announced on Tuesday.

The latest number of new cases is a slight drop compared to recent daily tolls being over 550 new cases almost daily.

Meanwhile, the UAE has maintained a relatively low death toll with an additional 9 new fatalities, raising the total to 146.

The UAE has also confirmed 187 new recoveries, mainting its higher recovery rate with nearly 21 percent of the 15,192 total infected patients having recovered so far.

A United Arab Emirates research institute has developed a coronavirus treatment using stem cells “which could be a game-changer in the global fight” against the outbreak, a government official announced on Friday.

The Abu Dhabi Stem Cell Center has developed a treatment method that regenerates lung cells and prevents the immune system from overreacting, Hend Al Otaiba, Director of Strategic Communications with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a Twitter thread.

The treatment has successfully undergone an initial phase of clinical trials, with no harmful side effects, on 73 patients making full recoveries, according to the director. The Ministry of Economy granted a patent for the development of the treatment, official WAM news agency reported. -- Al Arabiya English