RIYADH — For the second consecutive day, coronavirus infections in Saudi Arabia have shown a declining trend, a ministry of health spokesman said on Wednesday. There were 1,905 new cases during the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases in the Kingdom to 44,830. On Tuesday, 1,911 infections were reported while there were 1,966 cases on Monday. The number of daily reported cases began to decrease on Tuesday for the first time since the start of the outbreak, spokesman Dr. Muhammad Al-Abdel Ali was quoted by Saudi Press Agency (SPA) as saying. This is due to increased testing, which has allowed the ministry to isolate active cases, as well as the public's commitment to following preventative measures, he added. The spokesman added that the number of recoveries recorded in the past day was more than the number of infections. A total of 2,365 people recovered from the coronavirus during the last 24 hours, raising the number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 17,622. Nine people died of the virus in the past 24 hours, bringing the virus-related death toll in the country to 273, Dr. Al-Abdel Ali said. They include two Saudi Arabians and seven non-Saudi residents who lived in Jeddah and Makkah. From the newly detected cases, Saudi citizens make up 32 percent while non-Saudi residents make up 68 percent. A record 673 cases were reported in Riyadh, followed by 338 in Jeddah, 283 in Makkah and 147 in Dammam. There were 67 infections in Hufof, 64 in Madinah, 52 in Jubail, 50 in Taif, 47 in Al-Khobar, 35 in Tabuk, 30 in Majma'h, 18 in Diriyah, 14 in Dhahran, 13 in Umluj, and 11 in Baish. The remaining 63 cases were reported in different small towns and cities across the country.
