Saudi Arabia records highest daily number of coronavirus deaths

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RIYADH: Saudi Arabia reported 56 deaths from COVID-19 on Saturday, the highest daily number since the Kingdom began recording coronavirus infections on March 2.

The death toll is now 1,858, and there were 4,128 new cases on Saturday, taking the total number to 205,929.

Of the new cases, 360 were reported in Riyadh, 315 in Dammam, 217 in Hufof and 214 in Qatif.

The total number of recoveries in the Kingdom increased to 143,256 after 2,642 more patients recovered from the virus.

Worldwide, the virus has infected nearly 11.3 million people and killed more than 530,000.

FASTFACTS

205,929 - The total number of coronavirus cases in Saudi Arabia
143,256 - The total number of recoveries in the Kingdom

There are 60,815 active cases as five patients were admitted to critical care units, raising the number of patients in critical care units to 2,295.

The ministry has launched several testing centers and units across the Kingdom in an effort to relieve the need for people to visit hospitals. The drive-through testing centers, launched by insurance company Tawuniya in coordination with the ministry, have allowed people who want to get tested to be able to do so from the comfort of their car.

People can visit one of the 21 mobile testing centers spread across cities — Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah, Abha and Dammam — by booking an appointment through the Sehaty app or calling 937 and choosing a convenient time slot.

A barcode is displayed on the app once the appointment is confirmed with a message being sent with the site’s location. It is checked upon arrival by the designated organizer at the test site and again at the designated track.

A health care worker standing at least a meter away conducts an oral swab test by inserting the swab into the mouth to reach the back of the throat, a process that takes no longer than 15 seconds. The sample is securely sealed away immediately afterwards.

Test results are sent by text message between one and five days after the test. People are instructed to self-isolate and monitor their condition every day through the ministry’s Tatamman app.

There have been 52,135 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests conducted in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of tests carried out to date to more than 1.8 million. The PCR test looks for evidence that the virus is currently in someone’s body by detecting the presence of its genetic material in a swab sample taken from the nose or throat.

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