Vaccine registrations jump as delta variant arrives in Saudi Arabia

JEDDAH: Public concern has risen after the first confirmed delta variant cases in Saudi Arabia, with more people registering for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine. 
So far, more than 32.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered at a rate of 93.3 doses per 100 people. More than 60.2 percent of the country’s population have been inoculated with at least one dose. 
The Public Health Authority said that the delta variant is highly transmissible, even among those who have been vaccinated, but it added that infection in fully immunized people may occur in smaller percentages compared to those who received a single dose or no inoculation.
Authorities continue to urge people to remain vigilant, adhere to measures and register for the vaccine. 
A total of 569 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the Kingdom on Tuesday, with a total of 539,698 people in Saudi Arabia having contracted the disease.

The Ministry of Health reported 704 new recovered cases, taking the total number of recoveries to 524,765. There are currently only 6,502 active cases, of which 1,295 are critical, a decline of 37 in the past 24 hours. 
The highest recorded number of infections was in the Riyadh region at 132, followed by Makkah with 101. The rest of the Kingdom’s regions are recording less than 100 cases, with Baha registering only 11 on Tuesday.
Twelve new deaths were reported, raising the death toll to 8,431.

There were 79,383 PCR tests carried out in the past 24 hours, raising the total number conducted in the Kingdom to more than 26.5 million.
Meanwhile, the Jeddah Municipality carried out 7,479 field inspections in the past two days to ensure the compliance of commercial establishments with the precautionary guidelines and measures, which resulted in the closure of 42 violating facilities.
Th Eastern Province Municipality carried out 1,431 monitoring rounds on Monday and detected 92 violations
Some 55 people were arrested in the Northern Borders for violating precautionary and preventive measures that stipulate no more than 20 people can gather at one point. The media spokesman for the Northern Borders Police, Col. Mutaib Al-Khamis, said the competent authorities in the region’s police took legal measures against them and penalties were applied against the host, the person in charge of the facility, and everyone who attended the gathering.
Police in Tabuk said they arrested four people and police in Al-Jouf arrested 3 others for flouting quarantine rules after they tested positive for COVID-19.
Penalties for individuals who violate quarantine instructions include a fine of up to SR200,000 ($53,332) and/or up to two years imprisonment, and penalties are doubled for repeat offenders. If the violation was committed by an expat, they face deportation from the Kingdom and are permanently banned from reentry.
The coronavirus pandemic has affected over 209 million people globally and the death toll has reached around 4.38 million.