Saudi Arabia announced 36 more Coronavirus deaths and 3,717 new cases of the disease on Wednesday, a significant uptick in cases as the Kingdom deals with a second wave after initial successful efforts in flattening the curve.
Over a third of new cases were reported in Riyadh, with the Kingdom’s capital city recording 1,317 cases, Arab News reports. Jeddah recording 460 new cases.
Active cases in Saudi Arabia.
The high number of new cases comes just after Saudi Arabia began to re-open in phases, launching the second of three phases earlier this month. The second phase seeks to resume economic activity and gradually return to normal, reducing curfews and allowing for people to be outside for longer. Domestic flights have resumed, as have local Saudi train routes.
But since June 1st, daily new cases have nearly doubled, causing the Kingdom’s authorities to take new actions on businesses and mosques found in violation of new health safety rules or that have shown to be hotspots.
Throughout the spread of the virus this year, Saudi Arabia enforced some of the strictest preventative measures of any country worldwide to stop the spread of COVID-19 within the Kingdom. But with the holy month of Ramadan and eid falling during the lockdowns, controlling the virus was especially difficult, as data continues to show that large family gatherings, like those common during Ramadan, are opportunities for the virus to spread.
The health ministry added that 1,615 more people have recovered from the virus, taking the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 77,954.
A total of 819 people have died from the virus in the Kingdom so far.
