Saudi Arabia sees 1,197 new coronavirus infections

Worshippers perform taraweeh prayer in front of the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque on the first day of Ramadan in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. While the general public are not allowed to enter because of the coronavirus pandemic, imams at Islam’s holiest site still lead the daily prayers with staff and workers. AFP

Saudi policemen stand guard next to the Kaaba in Makkah's Grand Mosque on the first day of Ramadan. AFP

Muslims offer Taraweeh evening prayers on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan at a mosque in Kandahar city. AFP

Muslims offer special taraveeh prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan amid lockdown due to the ongoing coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, in Herat, Afghanistan. EPA

Sudanese men break their fast in a street in the capital Khartoum during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan amid a curfew due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. AFP

A peddlar sells bread and pastries from a cart in the rain in a square in Syria's northwestern city of Idlib on the first day of Ramadan. AFP

A Lebanese drummer (Musaharati) wears a protective mask and carries a small drum as he makes his rounds waking Muslims for Suhor, the meal taken during Ramadan before sunrise prayers, amid the coronavirus lockdown in Beirut, Lebanon, 25 April 2020. EPA

A Lebanese supporter of the Jemaah Islamiyah wears a medical mask, drives his ATV to celebrate in the first day of Ramadan in Beirut, Lebanon, 24 April 2020. EPA

Palestinian Walid al-Hattab prepares soup for the poor during the first day of Ramadan in Gaza City on April 24, 2020. AFP

A Palestinian family perform the tarawih special prayer during the first day of Ramadan in their home in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on April 24, 2020. AFP

A Palestinian preacher speaks before a camera while recording a sermon and broadcasting the audio onto loudspeakers inside an empty mosque in the village of Salem east of Nablus in the occupied West Bank on the first day of Ramadan on April 24, 2020. AFP

A Palestinian worker prepares a lantern on the first day of Ramadan, in the west bank city of Nablus, 24 April 2020. EPA

A Yemeni collects the copies of the Koran on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan at a mosque in Sana'a, Yemen, 24 April 2020. EPA

An Iranian woman prays outside of the Saleh Shrine on the eve of the holy month of Ramadan, in Tehran, Iran, 24 April 2020. EPA

A car travels in front of closed shops, and light decorations during the first night of Ramadan, in the Cairo suburb of Maadi, Egypt, April 24, 2020. Reuters

Tunisians buy cheese on the first day of Ramadan at a market in Tunis, Tunisia, 24 April 2020. EPA

A Tunisian woman sells dates on the first day of Ramadan at a market in Tunis, Tunisia, 24 April 2020. EPA

A man walks past closed shops before the start of Ramadan in the usually bustling Medina of Rabat, Morocco, Thursday, April 23, 2020. AP Photo

Saudi Arabia reported 1,197 new Covid-19 cases and nine deaths on Saturday, with Makkah accounting for the highest daily rise in infections among Saudi cities for the fifth time in the past week.

Of the total cases detected since Friday, 364 were in Makkah, 271 in Jeddah, 170 in Riyadh, 120 in Madinah and 43 in Dammam.

The news cases took the total number of coronavirus infections detected in the kingdom to 16,299.

The Saudi health ministry said the number of patients who had recovered from the virus rose by 165 to 2,214.

A total of 136 people have died of the disease in the kingdom.

Qatar reported the second-highest increase in cases among Gulf states with 833 new infections detected since Friday.

Qatar's health ministry said 20 patients had recovered, leaving the country with 8,419 active cases.

Most of the new cases were among expatriate workers who had been in contact with previously diagnosed cases, the ministry said.

Qatar has reported 10 deaths from the disease, while 929 patients have recovered.

The number of cases detected in Kuwait rose by 278 to 2,892, with four more deaths, the health ministry said on Saturday.

Ministry spokesman Abdulla Al Sand said 58 patients were intensive care, 25 of them in critical condition. The number patients being treated for the disease was 2,217.

All the four people who died had been in intensive care: a 74-year-old Kuwaiti woman; a Bangladeshi, 64; and Egyptian, 45; and a 59-year-old Indian.

Kuwaiti Health Minister Basel Al Sabah said 43 more Covid-19 patients had recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 656.

Dr Al Sabah said efforts were being made ease the coronavirus precautions but resumption of work was unlikely before the end of Ramadan.

Bahrain detected 70 more coronavirus cases, of which 51 are among expatriate workers, the health ministry said.

Nineteen of the new infections were transmitted from existing cases.

The ministry said 19 more Covid-19 patients had recovered.

A 79-year-old Omani man died on from the virus on Friday night, raising the country's Covid-19 death toll to 10.

The number of cases recorded in the sultanate rose to 1,905 with the detection of 115 new infections, the Omani health ministry said on Saturday.

The ministry said 48 of the new cases were Omanis and 67 were foreigners. The overall number of recoveries in Oman has reached 329, it said.