Saudi Arabia has conducted a total of a million tests for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) all over the Kingdom, recording its highest daily increase yet at 1,289 and bringing the total number of cases to 18,811.
According to the Ministry of Health, experts have earlier warned that the cases could reach 10,000 to 200,000 in the next few weeks if residents do not take the precautionary measures seriously. Today, Minister of Health Tawfiq Al-Rabiah said they are expecting the number to further rise in the coming days.
This Ministry added that the total COVID-19 death toll in the Kingdom now stands at 144 after five new fatalities were announced on April 27. The number of patients who have recovered, meanwhile, is now at 2,531.
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Officials said that the Kingdom saw a spike in the number of cases after it began massive random field-testing in various neighborhoods across all its regions. The number of people screened all over Saudi has now reached 1 million.
They added that the number of cases will soar if a section of people in the country are not serious about following the orders of the government to alleviate the spread of the disease—such as staying at home, practicing social distancing, and observing proper hygiene.
In an interview with Saudi Press Agency, Minister Al-Rabiah said that the increase in the number of cases depend on the cooperation of everyone in the Kingdom, noting that some members of the society are not dealing with the epidemic with “adequate seriousness.”
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