Kingdom’s new cases slow down two weeks after reaching peak of 2,840

For six consecutive days, new recorded cases in Saudi Arabia have been decreasing after a series of strict measures were put in place that lasted more than six weeks. Saudi Arabia’s Health Ministry announced 1,877 new cases on Sunday, meaning that 85,261 people have now contracted the disease. There are currently 22,316 active cases, 453 of whom are in critical condition.

Meanwhile, 3,559 patients have recovered from COVID-19, the highest count since the beginning of the pandemic, bringing the total number of recoveries to 62,442. The Kingdom’s recovery rate is at its highest at 73 percent and it maintains a low fatality rate at .059 percent. Saudis made up 43 percent of Sunday’s recorded cases while 57 percent were expatriates; 12 percent of cases were children while 83 percent were adults and 5 percent were adults above the age of 65.

The city of Jeddah recorded the highest number with 586 cases, with Riyadh at 504 while Makkah recorded 159 cases. Twentythree fatalities were recorded in

Makkah, Riyadh and Madinah; most had prior chronic conditions. Meanwhile, 16,200 polymerase chain reaction tests have been conducted, raising the total number of tests conducted in the Kingdom so far to 822,769.

Across the Kingdom, mosques have reopened two months after the pandemic forced them to shut. Strict measures are in place and worshippers are told to follow guidelines of keeping a distance of 2 meters between rows, wearing masks to enter a mosque, and Friday sermons and prayers not lasting more than 15 minutes.