Saudi Arabia confirms 119 new coronavirus infections including 72 cases in Makkah

On Sunday, Saudi Arabia confirmed 119 new Covid-19 cases in the country, taking the total number of those infected to 511.

The announcement was made by the Saudi Ministry of Health which provided a breakdown of where the cases were detected.

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Out of the 119 cases, 72 were detected in Makkah, 34 in Riyadh, four each in Dammam and al-Qatif, three each in al-Ahsa and Khobar, and one each in Dhahran and Qassim.

“All those who mixed with confirmed cases are being isolated,” said the spokesman for the kingdom’s health ministry, Mohammed al-Abd al-Ali, reported Al Arabiya.

Of the 511 cases in the kingdom, 17 have recovered from the disease.

The spokesman added that a total of 23,000 tests were conducted in the kingdom.

On Sunday, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that 33 per cent of coronavirus infections in the kingdom were a result of people coming into contact with previously infected individuals and taking part in social gatherings, like weddings, funerals, and family get-togethers.

Saudi Arabia has already implemented some of the most stringent measures among GCC countries to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It already suspended all international flights from March 15 onwards for a period of two weeks, apart from closing schools and universities across the country.

Read: Saudi Arabia suspends all international flights for two weeks

On March 18, Saudi Arabia announced that all private sector employees will have to work out of their homes for 15 days while also suspending prayers in mosques – with the exception of the two holy mosques in Makkah and Madinah.

Read: Saudi orders all private sector staff to work from home, suspends prayers at mosques

On Friday, March 20, Saudi announced that it would suspend all forms of domestic transport in the country for 14 days including domestic flights, taxis, buses and trains.

Read: Covid-19: Saudi to suspend all domestic flights, buses, taxis and trains