KSA extends curfew as fight against COVID-19 continues
Total number of cases reaches 4,462 in Saudi Arabia
King Salman has ordered an extension of the coronavirus curfew until further notice, the Saudi Press Agency reported, as a Ministry of Health spokesman confirmed 429 new cases in the country.
The new figure, given by Dr. Mohammed Al-Abd Al-Aly, takes the total number of confirmed cases in the Kingdom to 4,462. There are currently 3,642 active cases with 65 cases in critical care, and Al-Aly said there had been 41 new recoveries, taking the total number of recoveries to 761.
As of Sunday the death toll was 59 with seven new fatalities. These include a 90-year-old Saudi male in Al-Hofuf and a 53-year-old Saudi male in Makkah. Both had prior health conditions. The remaining five were residents aged between 38 and 63. They lived in Makkah, Madinah and Jeddah. Most of the five also had prior health conditions.
Riyadh has the highest number of confirmed cases at 198, Makkah has 103, Madinah has 73 and there are 19 confirmed cases in Jeddah. The ministry announced there were more than 40,000 people in self-isolation, monitored by health officials from the start of the outbreak.
There are currently 7,000 people in accommodations set aside by the Ministry of Tourism for the duration of their isolation period, and 2,000 of these are Saudis who have returned to the Kingdom from overseas.
The spokesman said that 95 percent had been cleared after finishing their required 14-day quarantine as laboratory tests confirmed their lack of infection, and just 5 percent had been confirmed.
Al-Aly emphasized the importance of self-checking, as early detection was key to decreasing the spread of the virus.
The ministry is advising people to get their information from official sources and has a dedicated web page for updates about disease numbers in the Kingdom (covid19. moh.gov.sa). The 937 number provides medical consultations, referrals and treatment requests 24 hours a day throughout the week.
NUMBER is the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom