Saudi health minister: ‘COVID-19 numbers can rise unexpectedly, we must adhere to safety measures’

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia recorded just 421 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday as a result of a months-long lockdown and strict adherence to precautionary measures.

There have been 338,132 cases in the Kingdom since the COVID-19 pandemic began, 9,391 of those are currently active, with 879 patients in critical care units. A further 25 deaths were announced on Thursday, bringing the total number of COVID-related deaths in Saudi Arabia to 4,972.

There were also 561 more recoveries recorded on Thursday, raising the total number of recoveries to 323,769, a recovery rate of 95 percent. Madina recorded the highest number of new recoveries on Thursday with 102, Yanbu had 71 and Makkah 64.

While the number of new daily cases in the Kingdom has decreased rapidly since August 28, Saudi Minister of Health Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah on Thursday urged people to remain vigilant and continue to follow official guidelines.

“The number of people infected with the novel coronavirus is declining, but it can spike at any time,” he said. “It’s important that everyone adhere to precautionary measures, including social distancing.”

He added that the ministry is closely following the latest vaccine developments, stressing that while the government is eager to have a vaccine available to the general public as soon as possible, any such vaccine must be proven to be safe first.

The Ministry of Health announced on August 9 that an action plan was being developed to implement a clinical trial in the third phase of the CanSino vaccine, which would involve nearly 5,000 candidates across a number of cities including Riyadh, Dammam and Makkah.

That trial is a continuation of research being conducted by the Ministry of Health to combat COVID-19, which includes a recently conducted multi-center clinical study in cooperation with the World Health Organization in seven hospitals inside the Kingdom.

Saudi Arabia continues to ensure early detection of the virus through polymerase chain reaction tests in various health centers across the Kingdom — 48,341 new PCR tests were conducted in the 24-hours leading up to Thursday’s announcement, raising the total number of tests conducted so far to 6.87 million.