On Monday morning, the COVID-19 Monitoring Committee held its 89th meeting. Chaired by the Minister of Health, Dr. Tawfik 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 necessary.
The meeting was followed by a joint press conference, the participants in which included Dr. Muhammad Al-Abdulaali, Assistant Minister of Health and MOH spokesman, and Lt. Col. Talal Al-Shalhoub, Ministry of Interior (MOI) spokesman. The MOH spokesman mentioned that the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide has jumped to 4,730,968 cases, of which 1,739,890 cases have recovered to date. As for the COVID-19 death toll, it has jumped to 315,488.
Besides, 2,593 new confirmed cases were reported in the Kingdom, distributed as follows: 642 in Riyadh, 510 in Makkah, 305 in Jeddah, 245 in Madinah, 174 in Dammam, 147 in Hofuf, 133 in Al-Khobar, 71 in Al-Qatif, 64 in Taif, 44 in Deriyah, 34 in Dhahran, 33 in Al-Jubail, 23 in Hazm Al-Jalameed, 18 in Buraidah, 18 in Al-Sahan, 16 in Yanbu, 10 in Baqiq, 9 in Tabuk, 9 in Sharurah, 9 in Al-Kharj, 8 in Duba, 8 in Hail, 7 in Al-Haditha Port, 6 in Hafr Al-Batin, 4 in Al-Jafr, 4 in Jadidat-Arar, 3 in Mahd Al-Thahab, 3 in Khulais, 3 in Al-Rein, 3 in Rimah, 2 in Khamis Mesheit, 2 in Mahayel Assir, 2 in Ras Tannourah, 2 in Arar, 2 in Hotat Bani Tamim, 2 in Ruwaidat Al-Ard, 2 in Al-Dawadmi, 2 in Al-Zulfi, and one case in Al-Khafji, Al-Nuairiyah, Unaizah, Al-Qura, Al-Ghazala, Al-Sulaimania, Thadiq, Al-Majmaah, Layla, Wadi Al-Dawasser, Al-Suleil, Hotat Sudair, Thilan, and Merrat.
This brings the total COVID-19 cases in the Kingdom to 57,345 cases, including 28,277 active cases, receiving the medical care they may be in need of. Of these, there are 237 critical cases, whereas the health condition of the rest is stable. Of the cases reported today, 44% are Saudi citizens, and 56% are non-Saudi residents. About 25% of the cases are females, and 75% are males. Only 3% of the reported cases are older persons, 11% are children, and 86% are adults.
The number of new recoveries has amounted to 3,026, bringing the total recoveries to date to 28,748. And 8 new deaths were reported, bringing the total deaths to 320. The new deaths are non-Saudi residents in Makkah, Jeddah, Madinah, Dammam and Buraidah, aged 27 - 64 years old. They mostly suffered from chronic diseases.
According to Dr. Al-Abdulaali, anyone who has symptoms or seeks to get a diagnosis can use the self-diagnosis service on ‘Mawid’ application. Citizens who have questions can also inquire or seek advice by calling the 937 Call Center, available 24/7. The call center is now made closer to everyone than ever. Citizens can also benefit from its interactive services through WhatsApp application on the number 920005937. They can have access to health information and updates on COVID-19. The service also provides users with information on blood donation and primary health care centers (PHCs). Besides, it enables them to reserve appointments.
Al-Abdulaali said that the number of COVID-19 self-diagnoses carried out through ‘Mawid’ application has exceeded one million. He deems this diagnosis a safety measure to reassure healthy individuals and help them receive advice and guidance from experts and specialists. On the other hand, those who performed the test and showed symptoms of infection were able to obtain medical care and treatment and recovered better. Moreover, this diagnosis has resulted in protecting tens of thousands of individuals who were susceptible to catching the infection within their social groups.
For his part, the MOI spokesman, Lt. Col. Talal Al-Shalhoub, pointed out that last Saturday and Sunday, several curfew violations were found across the Kingdom. Riyadh region witnessed 52% of those violations. Curfew breaches have reached their peak at the beginning of the last week of Shaaban.
The violations indicator has seen a gradual decrease since the start of Ramadan in all regions of the Kingdom. It reached an all-time low across KSA except for Riyadh Region, where the indicator had been seeing a spike since the 10th of Ramadan. It still reports the highest number of curfews violations. Curfew breaches in Riyadh have represented 39% of the total violations in KSA since the curfew instructions were announced. Makkah reported approximately 22% of the total violations. The Eastern Province reported 8.5%, and Madinah reported 8%.
Al-Shalhoub explained that the police have conducted several security patrols and over 600 field tours and campaigns in all cities and governorates of the Kingdom over the past 24 hours. They aimed to enforce the directives to prevent gatherings in residential neighborhoods and rest houses. Many of these campaigns were carried out with the participation of other government agencies to impose precautionary measures and prevent gatherings in banks, markets, and other public areas. These areas also included industrial sites where violations of grouping workers were found.
The tours and campaigns announced do not include tasks performed by security officers to maintain security and safety and prevent movement between regions and cities whose entry or exit is banned. Instead, these tasks are implemented by security men at these specific locations where they carry out their daily tasks.
Al-Shalhoub stressed the importance of individuals feeling personally responsible for protecting themselves and their families from the pandemic. Moreover, everyone must stay away from gatherings and report them. “Since the curfew imposition, safety and preventive surveillance teams at the General Directorate of Civil Defense have conducted over 72,660 field tours to ensure that all facilities allowed to operate during curfew hours adhere to preventive safety requirements. These teams ensure the availability of fire protection systems and that everything needed for public safety is applied. Any remarks are observed closely and addressed under the laws and regulations,” Al-Shalhoub said. He noted that during these tours, 746 violations were found and addressed.
Addressing the press conference, MOI spokesman stated that the rate of fire accidents and citizens being locked up inside their homes has increased since the curfew was imposed. The number of home accidents reached 2,300, while the number of accidents where individuals got locked up reached 6,156. The General Directorate of Civil Defense launched an awareness campaign on the 4th of April, under the theme: “Your Safety at Home is Our Goal”. It aims to promote the culture of safety and protection against risks indoors. It also seeks to instill the principles of fire prevention in society, in addition to enhancing preventive behavior from home accidents.