Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia records five new deaths as case tally passes 18,000

The kingdom has reported more than 1,000 new cases daily since April 17

Worshippers perform Taraweeh prayer at the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease, in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi AraShow more

Saudi Arabia reported five new coronavirus-related deaths on Monday as the number of cases detected passed 18,000.

The Health Ministry reported 1,289 new cases since Sunday, bringing the total number to 18,811, with 144 deaths.
The government has reported more than 1,000 new Covid-19 infections a day since April 17, when the number of cases was about 7,000.

Saudi Arabia signed a $264 million (Dh969m) deal with China on Sunday to import nine million Covid-19 testing kits. China will provide 500 technicians to perform the tests and train Saudi staff.

The kingdom is continuing with widespread testing while gradually lifting restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Last week, Saudi authorities ordered the “transformation to a partial curfew”, allowing some businesses to reopen and easing restrictions on movement to lessen the economic toll on the country from the health crisis.

Two people died from the disease in Kuwait on Monday, bringing the total to 22 fatalities.

The latest cases were a 53 year-old Kuwaiti citizen and a 54-year old Indian resident, health ministry spokesman Abdullah Al Sanad said.

Mr Al Sanad said that 213 new cases emerged in the past 24 hours, raising the total cases to 3,288.

Thirty-one of the new cases were linked to travel abroad and 177 were traced to previously infected people. Five others are being investigated for the source of contagion, Dr Al Sanad added.

Oman reported 51 new cases of the virus on Monday, bringing the total to 2,049, the health ministry said.

The new cases are 37 Omanis and 14 foreigners, the ministry said. The overall number of recoveries now stands at 364.

Omani authorities said the country paid for the return of 3,750 citizens from abroad and announced that the capital, Muscat, would remain sealed off for at least another two weeks.

Qatar reported 957 new cases on Monday, taking the total infected cases to 11,244, and active cases to 10,168.

Qatar's Health Ministry said that 54 patients recovered during the past 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 1,066.

Ten people have died from Covid-19 since the outbreak began.

The ministry said it conducted 3,420 tests during the last 24 hours, bringing the number of tests conducted to 85,709.
The majority of those infected were expatriate workers who had come into contact with infected individuals, the ministry said.

Bahrain recorded 61 new cases on Monday. The health ministry said that "51 are expatriate workers and 3 are contacts of active cases and 7 are travel-related."

The kingdom has reported 2,647 cases of the virus and eight deaths.