Saudi Arabia confirms 8 COVID-19 deaths, 181 new cases

Saudi Health Minister Tawfiq al-Rabiah is among the first to be inoculated against Covid-19 on day one of the kingdom's three-phase vaccination program. (AFP)

• The Kingdom said 160 patients recovered in past 24 hours
• The highest number of cases were recorded in Riyadh with 64

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia recorded 8 new COVID-19 related deaths on Tuesday, raising the total number of fatalities to 6,139.
The Ministry of Health confirmed 181 new confirmed cases reported in the Kingdom in the previous 24 hours, meaning 361,359 people have now contracted the disease.
Of the total number of cases, 2,971 remain active and 404 in critical condition.

#الصحة⁩ تعلن عن تسجيل (181) حالة إصابة جديدة بفيروس ⁧#كورونا⁩ الجديد (كوفيد19)، وتسجيل (8) حالات وفيات رحمهم الله، وتسجيل (160) حالة تعافي ليصبح إجمالي عدد الحالات المتعافية (352,249) حالة ولله الحمد. pic.twitter.com/VTiWKPAdqd

— و ز ا ر ة ا لـ صـ حـ ة السعودية (@SaudiMOH) December 22, 2020

According to the ministry, the highest number of cases were recorded in the capital Riyadh with 64, followed by Makkah with 36, the Eastern Province with 31, Madinah recorded 12, and Qassim confirmed 11 cases.
The ministry also announced that 160 patients had recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 352,249.
The coronavirus pandemic has affected over 77 million people globally and the death toll has exceeded 1.7 million.