RIYADH — Saudi Arabia on Thursday reported 2,039 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, breaching the 2,000-mark, according to a statement from the health ministry. This brings the total number of confirmed COVID-19 infections in the Kingdom to 46,869 so far. The ministry also announced 1,429 more recoveries and 10 news deaths, taking the total number of recoveries and fatalities to 19,051 and 283 respectively. More than 400 new cases were recorded in Jeddah (482) and Riyadh (478). Makkah, Madinah reported 356 and 247 cases respectively. Speaking during the daily press briefing, Health Ministry's spokesman Dr. Muhammad Al-Abdel Ali noted that there was a significant increase of 125 percent in children testing positive and 100 percent rise in females. He said the recent spike is a result of social gatherings and non-compliance with preventative measures implemented. "This shows that these types of social activities, and these gatherings, are highly dangerous and negatively affected a group of individuals," Dr. Ali said. Among the newly detected cases, 41 percent of them are of Saudi nationals and rest of them are of expatriates. "This increase is also associated with social gatherings," the spokesman added.
