Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Assistant Minister of Health and Spokesman of the Ministry Dr. Muhammad Abdel-Aali emphasized that the ministry has not submitted a request for re-imposing curfew in the Kingdom.

“The current levels of coronavirus cases in the Kingdom reached phases that do not warrant the introduction of strict precautionary measures,” he said.

Saudi Arabia on Sunday recorded 323 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed infections in the Kingdom to 344,875.

The spokesman made the remarks amid reports of the second wave of the pandemic in several countries.

Last week, Minister of Health Tawfiq Al-Rabiah called on people to continue to adhere to preventative measures, saying that several countries are currently witnessing a second wave of COVID-19 as people there stopped following preventative measures and not wearing a mask.

As part of measures to prevent a second wave of the deadly infection in the Kingdom, the Ministry of Interior once again warned on Thursday that any lapse on part of citizens or expatriates in complying with the preventive protocols will invite a hefty fine of SR1,000.

Addressing the daily press briefing of the coronavirus situation, Abdel-Aali said that Saudi Arabia returned cautiously from the strict precautionary measures and preventive protocols and must continue on that path of relaxation.

“Praise be to God, we do not expect in the near future to go back to the strict measures again,” he stressed.

With the drop in new coronavirus infections, active cases have also fallen with 8,249 reported on Saturday, out of which 767 are critical. The spokesman said that there has a steady decline in the critical cases of coronavirus infection, down nine percent while comparing with last week.

According to the ministry, 15 more died over the past 24 hours from complications caused by COVID-19, taking the total number of virus-related fatalities to 5,296.

The ministry also reported 335 new recoveries over the past 24 hours, raising the total number of people free from the deadly virus to 331,330.

Among all cities in the Kingdom, Madinah reported 62 new cases followed by Riyadh with 41 cases. Yanbu recorded 29 cases followed by Makkah with 24, Buraidah with 14, Hofuf with 11 and Jeddah with 9 infections. The remaining cases were detected in different cities and governorates across the Kin