RIYADH — There was a marginal decline in the number of daily coronavirus cases in Saudi Arabia during the last 24 hours. A health ministry spokesman said 1,869 new infections were recorded on Tuesday as against Monday's figure of 1,877. The overall number of confirmed cases in the Kingdom now stand at 89,011, health ministry spokesman Dr. Muhammad Al-Abdel Ali was quoted by Saudi Press Agency (SPA) as saying. Despite its increasing numbers, the Kingdom has seen 17,340 new recoveries over the past week, raising the total to 65,790, the spokesman added. Meanwhile, 138 people who had previously tested positive for the virus in the Saudi Arabia have died over the past seven days, raising the death toll to 549. Riyadh topped the list of new infections on Tuesday with 556 cases. It was followed by 300 cases in Makkah, 279 in Jeddah, 123 in Dammam and 119 in Hufof. Additionally, there were 78 cases in Qatif, 72 in Ad-Diriyah, 57 in Madinah, 36 in Al-Khobar, 27 each in Taif and Hadda, 17 in Mubarraz, 16 each in Yanbu, Baish and Najran, and 13 in Al-Jafr. The rest of the cases were confirmed in cities and provinces across the Kingdom, the spokesman said. As the Kingdom moved to phase 2 of the gradual relaxation of coronavirus lockdown rules that spans from May 31 to June 20, the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs has underlined the need to strictly comply with the precautionary measures and preventive protocols at retail and wholesale stores, commercial centers and malls all over the Kingdom. According to the protocol, shoppers must maintain a two meter distance from each other, with rooms for instant isolation of suspected cases to be arranged in mall premises. Trying on clothes or testing perfumes are forbidden. The protocol stipulates that reception hours for shoppers and visitors at these centers shall be the same as the curfew relaxation hours from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the second phase. However, shops will be allowed to continue their work during curfew hours through delivery apps and transporting parcels and goods, or through their vehicles until midnight.
