Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia reports 213 new COVID-19 cases, 188 recoveries

Saudi Arabia has reported 213 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, raising the total to 365,988, the Ministry of Health reports.

Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.

Of the new cases, 88 were detected in the city of Riyadh, 37 in Mecca and 10 Medina.

Meanwhile, 188 individuals who had previously tested positive for the virus recovered, raising the total recoveries to 357,525.

The death toll increased to 6,346 after with after four people died due to COVID-19-related complications.

Saudi Arabia has been pushing forward with its vaccination capaign that was divide into different phases. The elderly, people with pre-existing medical conditions, and frontline workers are prioritized. Health authorities first approved the use of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and on Tuesday issued an approval for vaccines made by AstraZeneca and Moderna.

On Thursday, the Kingdom announced it would reschedule appointments for those expecting their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine due to delivery delays that the pharmaceutical company is experiencing.

Authorities said that those with appointments to receive their first dose will be rescheduled “due to the delay of the manufacturer in supplying the Kingdom and all countries of the world… due to the suspension of [Pfizer’s] factory to expand production lines.”

Those who are scheduled to receive their second dose should expect an SMS message with their updated appointment to get the shot. The ministry also clarified that those who do not receive a message should go to the designated vaccination center on their original scheduled date.

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