Several Gulf Arab states have seen daily coronavirus cases climb back towards highs recorded last year, prompting authorities to re-impose restrictions on travel and gatherings as they roll out vaccination campaigns, Reuters reports.

Bahrain on Tuesday registered 759 new daily infections, slightly above a record hit in September. Daily infections had fallen below 200 late last year. In Kuwait, daily cases rose above 1,000 on Tuesday for the first time since May after having fallen below 300 in December.

The United Arab Emirates has seen the biggest surge with daily infections tripling in around six weeks to a record 3,977 on February 3.