RIYADH — The number of recovered patients in Saudi Arabia on Monday stood at 5,524 as against 2,429 new confirmed coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours. The total number of cases are now 253,349, the health ministry announced. With the death of 37 patients the overall virus-related fatalities have gone up to 2,523, health ministry spokesman Dr. Muhammad Al-Abdel Ali was quoted by Saudi Press Agency (SPA) as saying. The Kingdom has 47,567 active cases with 203,259 total recoveries as of July 20. Of the new cases, 254 were confirmed in Jeddah, 195 in Hufof and 169 in Riyadh. There were 122 new infections in Taif, 116 in Makkah, 103 in Dammam, 102 in Mobarraz, 91 in Hafr Al-Batin and 65 in Madinah. The rest of the cases were scattered in other cities and governorates of the Kingdom, the spokesman said. Dr. Al-Abdel Ali said on Sunday that "unlimited support to the health sector has contributed to the Kingdom achieving levels of health security for all those in need in all regions and for all groups." In June, Saudi Arabia was ranked among the top 20 safest countries in the world during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, according to a comprehensive data analysis by Hong Kong-based Deep Knowledge Group. The Kingdom came in 17th place in Deep Knowledge's COVID-19 Safety Assessment. It was classified within the "Tier 1" category — 20 countries that ranked highest "in terms of regional safety and stability" in the era of COVID-19.
