Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia reports 4,757 new COVID-19 cases as death tolls rises

Saudi Arabia reported 4,757 new cases of the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Kingdom to 145,991, the Ministry of Health announced on Thursday.

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Most of the infections were detected in Riyadh, where the ministry recorded 1,442 new cases.

Mecca recorded 399 cases, Jeddah reported 300, while the other new infections were recorded in cities and provinces across the Kingdom.

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Forty-eight people died of COVID-19 on Thursday, the ministry said. This brings the total number of virus-related deaths in Saudi Arabia to 1,139.

Meanwhile, the total number of recoveries rose to 93,915 after 2,253 people recovered from the virus.

Return to normalcy

Returning to normalcy does not mean that the pandemic is over, health ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Abd al-Ali said on Thursday.

“The virus is still there, the virus is active, the pandemic is still there, and there is still no vaccine. Research is ongoing, and we are hopeful. Treatment protocols are constantly being updated,” he said.

“A return to normalcy is now possible, but must be done with caution,” al-Abd al-Ali added.

Earlier this month, the health ministry spokesman had said that the number of active coronavirus cases and the virus-related death toll in Saudi Arabia is rising because several members of the public continue to ignore preventative measures.

He urged citizens and residents to continue to adhere to precautionary measures.

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