There have been 511 COVID-19 cases confirmed in Saudi Arabia, with an spurt of 199 new cases, said Dr Mohammed Al-Abd Al-Aali, spokesman of the Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia.
The new cases covered many regions and governorates in the kingdom, including 72 in Makkah, 34 in Riyadh, 4 in Qatif, 3 in Khobar, 3 in Ahsa, and one case in each Qassim, Dhahran and Dammam.
Seven persons coming from abroad have been confirmed with the disease and are isolated now. Some 72 people who returned from Turkey show no sign of symptoms and are healthy, but isolated at a hotel in Makkah.
These cases were detected early during the epidemiological investigation of a previous case which was announced a week ago. 40 cases have been recorded of people who were in contact with previous cases during gatherings or family meetings, he said.
He also announced the recovery of 18 patients with no deaths, disclosing that all cases are adult. There have also been 17 affected children.
The number of confirmed cases with the new Coronavirus (COVID-19) around the world totalled 312,000 cases, of which 94,000 cases have recovered so far. The official disclosed that the number of deaths reached 13,400.
Dr Al-Abd Al-Aali affirmed that the advanced laboratory examinations exceeded 23,000 cases which are all negative, pointing out that the Health Centre (937) received 280,000 calls about the new Coronavirus.
Meanwhile, the committee tasked with following up the health situation arising out of the new Coronavirus (COVID-19) affirmed the importance of continuing and even enhancing all precautionary measures at all entry ports.
The committee held today its 32nd meeting under chairmanship of Health Minister Dr Tawfiq bin Fawazan Al-Rabiah and in presence of the members of all governmental relevant entities.
During the meeting, the committee reviewed all reports and developments of the virus as well as the epidemiological situation of the virus worldwide including the confirmed cases in the kingdom. It urged all to stay at home.
The Spokesman of the Health Ministry urged all to abide by the health and hygiene instructions, staying away from gatherings and observing a 14-day health isolation for anyone coming from abroad.
He called on everyone to take advantage of the self-assessment service about the symptoms of the new Coronavirus, which is available on MAWID electronic application.
Dr Al-Abd Al-Aali urged anyone coming from the infected areas to communicate with the Health Centre (937). -- Tradearabia News Service