RIYADH: Saudi Arabia confirmed one new COVID-19 related death on Thursday, raising the total number of fatalities to 8,850.
The Ministry of Health confirmed 45 new cases reported in the Kingdom in the previous 24 hours, meaning 550,088 people have now contracted the disease. Of the total number of cases, 29 remain in critical condition.
According to the ministry, the highest number of cases were recorded in the capital Riyadh with 16, followed by Jeddah with nine, Madinah and Dammam confirmed three cases each, and Makkah recorded two.

The health ministry also announced that 72 patients had recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 539,277.
Over 47.9 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered since the Kingdom’s immunization campaign started. More than 22.7 million people have been fully vaccinated.
The coronavirus pandemic has affected over 268 million people globally and the death toll has reached around 5.30 million.