ABU DHABI — The UAE recorded 842 new cases of the novel coronavirus in 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed infections in the country to 81,782. There were 674 new coronavirus cases in the country on Tuesday. One person died due to complications caused by COVID-19, raising the virus-related death toll in the country to 402. Meanwhile, the total number of recoveries climbed to 71,456 after 821 people recovered from the coronavirus. Almost 8.4 million tests have been carried out across the country since the first cases were announced in late January. The number of daily infections have been steadily rising over the past month. After a record low of 164 new cases on Aug. 3, the UAE reported its highest number of daily infections on Sept. 12 (1,007). Officials said the surge in cases was a result of non-compliance with safety measures. As a result, authorities began a major campaign against anyone breaching COVID-19 protocols. The UAE had on Monday night announced that emergency approval was issued for the use of a COVID-19 vaccine, currently in its third phase of testing in the Gulf country. “The vaccine will be available to our first line of defense heroes who are at the highest risk of contracting the virus,” said the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority in a tweet. — Agencies