RIYADH: Saudi Arabia confirmed eight new COVID-19 related deaths on Wednesday, raising the total number of fatalities to 8,560.
The Ministry of Health confirmed 177 new cases reported in the Kingdom in the previous 24 hours, meaning 544,811 people have now contracted the disease.
Of the total number of cases, 2,821 remain active and 824 in critical condition.
According to the ministry, the highest number of cases were recorded in the capital Riyadh with 54, followed by Makkah with 29, the Eastern Province with 18, Jazan recorded 14, and Qassim confirmed 13 cases.
The health ministry also announced that 279 patients had recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 533,430.
Over 37.3 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been administered in the Kingdom to date through 587 centers.
The ministry renewed its call on the public to register with the Sehhaty app to receive the vaccine, and adhere to the measures and abide by instructions.
Municipalities in the Kingdom have shut down multiple commercial outlets as part of their efforts to monitor compliance with health and safety measures to stop the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
The municipality of Jeddah closed 22 facilities during 3,547 inspection tours carried out on Wednesday. Authorities also issued fines to 37 other businesses.
The Eastern Province Municipality recorded 90 violations during 1,422 monitoring rounds on Wednesday.
In Hail, authorities closed 43 businesses during 762 tours and in Makkah five facilities were closed during 127 tours.
Officials have urged the public to report any suspected health breaches by phoning the 940 call center number or contacting authorities through the Balady app.
The Ministry of Islamic Affairs reopened one mosque after temporarily evacuating and sterilizing it after one person tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of mosques closed and reopened after being sterilized to 2,024 within 207 days.
The coronavirus pandemic has affected over 219 million people globally and the death toll has reached around 4.54 million.
