Saudi Arabia records 9 COVID-19 deaths, 178 new cases

People shop at a supermarket after the Saudi government eased a curfew and allowed stores to open, following the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (File/Reuters)

• The Kingdom said 207 patients have recovered in the past 24 hours
• 44 new cases were reported in Riyadh

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia recorded 9 new COVID-19 related deaths on Friday, raising the total number of fatalities to 6,168.
The Ministry of Health reported 178 new cases in the Kingdom in the previous 24 hours, meaning 361,903 people have now contracted the disease.
Of the total number of cases, 2,920 remain active and 376 in critical condition.

#الصحة⁩ تعلن عن تسجيل (178) حالة إصابة جديدة بفيروس ⁧#كورونا⁩ الجديد (كوفيد19)، وتسجيل (9) حالات وفيات رحمهم الله، وتسجيل (207) حالة تعافي ليصبح إجمالي عدد الحالات المتعافية (352,815) حالة ولله الحمد. pic.twitter.com/bh3oBGBUVV

— و ز ا ر ة ا لـ صـ حـ ة السعودية (@SaudiMOH) December 25, 2020

According to the ministry, the highest number of cases were recorded in the capital Riyadh with 44 infections, followed by Makkah with 31, Madinah with 31, the Eastern Province with 29 and Asir with 9 cases.
The ministry also announced that 207 patients had recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 352,815.
The coronavirus pandemic has affected over 79.5 million people globally and the death toll has exceeded 1.74 million.