JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s daily number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has fallen below 200 for the first time in eight months.
The Health Ministry reported that 190 cases were recorded on Saturday, raising the number of total cases in the Kingdom to 358,526.
The first time the country recorded daily cases below the 200 mark was on April 4, with 183 cases. The caseload had been rising since then and it peaked on June 16.
There are currently 4,010 active cases, 603 of which are in critical care. Just five cities reported new cases in double digits: Riyadh had 56, Madinah and Jeddah had 17 cases each and Makkah had 12 cases.
There were a further 324 recoveries, raising the total number of recovered patients to 348,562. Saudi Arabia’s recovery rate is 97.2 percent.
There were 14 new fatalities reported in the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 5,954.
INNUMBERS
358,526 Total cases
348,562 Recoveries
5,954 Deaths
More than 10 million PCR tests have been conducted in the Kingdom since the beginning of the outbreak, and 34,621 were carried out in the past 24 hours.
Experts continue to test those suspected of being infected with COVID-19 as early as possible in order to curb the spread of the disease.
Testing, precautionary measures and high public awareness levels about the importance of safety protocols have seen the number of cases drop and, with the help of PCR tests, community level threats are being kept at bay.
But the threat of spread remains and authorities are urging people to stay vigilant and take precautions for their safety as well as the safety of others.