RIYADH – Saudi Arabia has one of the lowest coronavirus death rates in the world and also one of the lowest total number of critical cases among COVID-19 patients, Minister of Health Dr. Tawfiq Bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah said here on Sunday. This has been possible, he said, due to the exemplary care being provided to the patients and all other suspected cases. According to John Hopkins coronavirus statistics, the number of COVID-19 fatalities represents 6.73 percent of all confirmed cases globally. Till Saturday, there were 302 fatalities reported out of the total 52,016 confirmed coronavirus cases in Saudi Arabia, which translates to a death rate of 0.58 percent. Al-Rabiah's remarks came during his address to the heroes, medical and other staff in hospitals and health centers. He thanked them for their sincere efforts and hard work. "We're capable of overcoming any hardships, as the Crown Prince said we have a resolve as majestic and massive as Mount Tuwaiq," Al-Rabiah was cited by Saudi Press Agency (SPA) as saying. "We have only done it with the confidence that we have soldiers, like you, who make our health system strong. This causes us to go further into the tests, and expand them to discover as many cases as possible and save their lives, before it is too late," the minister told the medics fighting to combat the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. The Kingdom's daily reported new coronavirus cases have been rising over the past week, with 2,840 cases detected on Saturday, 2,307 cases detected on Friday, 2,039 cases detected on Thursday, 1,905 cases detected on Wednesday, 1,911 cases detected on Tuesday, 1,966 cases detected on Monday, and 1,912 cases detected on Sunday. The minister said the rise was due to increased testing and tripling laboratory capacities from the levels they were at the beginning of the outbreak. He added that the authorities have also widened the scope of testing to include all areas in the Kingdom.
