RIYADH Saudi Arabia announced 1,132 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday, taking the total number of cases in the Kingdom to 8,274. Mass testing revealed 740 of those cases. The health ministry also said that five people have died of the virus and that the total number of patients who have recovered from it in the Kingdom is 1,329. Of the new cases, 315 were recorded in Makkah, 236 in Jeddah, 225 in Riyadh, 186 in Madinah and 88 in Dammam. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior said that the neighbourhoods of AlFaisaliah and Al-Fadhliyah in Al-Ahsa governorate will be locked down as of Saturday and no one will be able to enter or leave the two neighbourhoods. Residents can leave their houses only to buy groceries or receive medical care between 06:00 A.M and 03:00 P.M. The ministry has been carrying out field trips to ensure control over the spread of the virus. “These efforts contributed to the discovery of 50 percent of today’s cases (almost 400 cases), and are expected to increase the number of identified cases in upcoming days,” said the ministry’s spokesman, Dr. Mohammed Al-Abd AlAly. The medical team’s field trips took place in overpopulated areas, workers’ housing units and places where previous cases had been uncovered in order to cease transmission. Health Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah said neighborhood surveys had started accessing people in their homes even if they were not showing symptoms. He explained that the ministry had also expanded the detection “from the car” to accelerate the process. “This was reflected in the increase in the number of infections that don’t require hospitalization and our ability to contain (the situation) early,” said AlRabiah. A total of 762 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded in the Kingdom on Friday, bringing the total number of cases to 7,142. There are now 6,006 active cases, 74 of which are critical, reports Arab News.
