COVID-19: Saudi Arabia reports 40 deaths, 4,233 new cases

Dubai: Saudi Arabia reported a record jump in new coronavirus cases on Sunday, with 4,233 more people tested positive for COVID-19, against the record highest of Friday's 3,921 cases.

The new cases are considered the record highest cases since the outbreak of the pandemic in the Kingdom.

The Health Ministry said that 40 more people succumbed to the virus during the past 24 years, raising the total number of COVID-19 infections to 127,541, while the virus-related fatalities have risen 972 in the Kingdom.

The ministry revealed that 2,172 more people have recovered from the virus, taking the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 84,720.

Over 35 per cent of the Kingdom’s new cases were reported in Riyadh with 1,735 infections, followed by Jeddah with 352 new cases, Health Ministry spokesman Dr. Mohammad Al Abdul Ali said during a press conference..

The rest of the cases were reported in different small cities and governorates across the Kingdom, the spokesperson said.

“There has been a remarkable rise in the number of critical cases due to non-compliance with the precautionary measures and social distancing protocol,” Dr. Al Abdul Ali said.

The Kingdom has launched an air bridge to airlift medical supplies and facemasks to ensure the provision of sufficient facemasks for all citizens and expatriate residents.

Nine facemask factories are already set up in the kingdom. People will have to buy masks by full boxes, not by one. Authorities will issue restrict instructions to this effect by the end of this month, he added.