JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia has reported the highest number of cases since the outbreak of the pandemic as international flights remained suspended in the country.
The kingdom 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 Health Ministry said that forty more people succumbed to the virus during the past 24 hours, 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 percent 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,” he said.
Saudi Arabia has launched an air bridge to airlift medical supplies and facemasks to ensure the provision of sufficient facemasks for all residents.
Nine facemask factories are already set up and people will have to buy masks by full boxes. Saudi authorities will issue restrict instructions to this effect by the end of this month, the spokesman added.
Meanwhile, all international flights from and to Saudi Arabia will remain suspended until further notice, the national carrier Saudia said on Sunday.
Flights will resume gradually and the schedule will be announced through official channels, the airlines said, adding that international flights allowed at the moment are only incoming flights carrying stranded Saudi citizens.
The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) had resumed domestic flights on May 31 after consultations with health authorities and in compliance with the controls and precautionary measures taken to counter the new coronavirus pandemic.
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