On Tuesday morning, the COVID-19 Monitoring Committee held its 69th meeting. Chaired by the Minister of Health, Dr. Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah, the meeting was attended by the committee members, who represent the relevant government agencies.
During the meeting, all relevant COVID-19 updates and reports were reviewed. The committee has discussed the global epidemiological situation, as well as the cases reported locally and their health condition. All precautionary measures carried out at the points of entry into the Kingdom will continue in full, the Committee stressed, and will be further tightened. Meanwhile, the Committee commended the citizens’ compliance with the curfew, and called on them to stay home, and refrain from going unless absolutely necessary.
Following the meeting, Dr. Muhammad Al-Abdulaali, MOH spokesman mentioned that the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide has jumped to over 3 million cases, of which 896,000 cases have recovered to date. As for the COVID-19 death toll, it has jumped to 211,000.
As for the epidemiological situation in the Kingdom, he mentioned that 1,266 new confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported in the following cities: 327 in Makkah, 273 in Madinah, 262 in Jeddah, 171 in Riyadh, 58 in Jubail, 35 in Dammam, 32 in Taif, 29 in Tabuk, 18 in Al-Zulfi, 9 in Khulays, 8 in Buraidah, 7 in Khobar, 5 in Al-Hafouf, 4 in Al-Qatif and Ras Tanurah, 3 in Adhum, 2 in Al-Jafr, Al Majaridah, Yanbu, Bisha and Al-Diriyah, and 1 in Hafr Al-Batin, Dhahran, Abqaiq, Sajer, Wadi Al-Dawasir, Hail, Sakaka, Zulom, Abha, Khamis Mushayt and Sabya.
This brings the total COVID-19 cases in the Kingdom to 20,077 cases, including 17,141 active cases, receiving the medical care and their health condition is stable. Of these, there are 118 critical cases, and the number of the new recoveries has amounted to 253, bringing the total recoveries to 2,784. And 8 new deaths were reported, bringing the total deaths to 152. The new deaths include 3 Saudi citizens, a 58-year-old man in Jeddah and 2 women in Makkah, 50 and 103 years old, and 5 non-Saudi residents in Makkah and Jeddah, aged 40 - 60 years old. All of them suffered from chronic diseases.
Of the 1,266 confirmed cases today, 23% were Saudis and 77% non-Saudi, he said. He added that 841 cases were detected through the active surveillance, accounting for 66% of the total confirmed cases.
“At this time, the pandemic becomes more virulent and cases are rising worldwide and also in the Kingdom, some cases with symptoms and may require medical acre, and symptoms may not appear in other cases until after some time”, he said.
He pointed out that the international organizations and medical centers as well as national centers for disease prevention and control recommend covering mouth and nose with cloth mask continuously, especially in crowded areas to maintain the health and to curb the spread of the virus. He urged everyone to follow the instructions published on MOH’s platforms about wearing the mask properly, pointing out that masks alone don’t protect form infection.
The MOH spokesman reiterated that anyone who develops symptoms, or is willing to get medical advice, can use the self-assessment application ‘Mawid’, or call 937 which works around the clock.