Saudi Health Ministry Spokesman Dr. Mohammed Abdelali has expected the number of coronavirus infections and deaths to increase in the Kingdom in the coming days, noting that the ministry had upped the number of beds in intensive care units.
Abdelali, giving his remarks in his daily press briefing on Tuesday, said that assessments are underway and that in the face of risks, health comes first.
The spokesman announced 3,288 new infections, which brings the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Saudi Arabia to 108,571.
The Health Ministry also recorded 37 new deaths from the disease, bringing the death toll to 783.
The total number of patients that have recovered from the virus jumped to 76,339 after recording 1,815 new recoveries.
Abdelali noted that 40% of active virus cases were involved with social mingling, mostly by youth. He added that studies show that 20%-45% of the population was infected which will result in herd immunity.
The number of infections in the Kingdom is rising because there are people who continue to ignore the government’s preventative and safety measures, the spokesman said.
He added that the daily death rate in the Kingdom had also been rising because the most vulnerable people in society, such as the elderly or people with underlying conditions, had been getting infected.
“There needs to be more adherence and more following of the rules in Riyadh and Jeddah,” Abdelali said.
He also said the rate of patients who caught the virus due to interaction with others infected with COVID-19 had also risen.
For those seeking to check up on their health, Abdelali revealed that there is a new service available to the public offered by 214 clinics across the Kingdom.
“Those who wish to obtain a careful laboratory examination can enter the “Sehhaty” application and benefit from the service provided in specialized centers and mobile units,” he said.
He indicated that the total accurate laboratory tests conducted are close to a million, as it reached 997,673.
