JEDDAH: The Ministry of Health has said there has been a significant increase in the number of active and critical cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Saudi Arabia, and has urged those who would like to take the vaccine to register through its Sehhaty app and select a time slot.
More than 2.7 million people have had a COVID-19 vaccine jab so far at one of the 500 vaccine centers across the Kingdom.
Saudi Arabia reported five more COVID-19-related deaths on Friday. The death toll now stands at 6,596. The ministry reported 391 new cases on Friday, meaning that 384,271 people have now contracted the disease. There are 3,811 active cases, with
574 of them in critical condition.
According to the ministry, 159 of the new cases were in Riyadh, 69 in the Eastern Province, 66 in Makkah and 11 in Madinah.
In addition, 263 more patients have recovered from the disease, bringing the total to 373,864 recoveries.
Saudi Arabia has so far conducted 14,547,879 PCR tests, with 44,257 carried out in the past 24 hours.
Health clinics in the Kingdom, set up by the ministry as testing hubs and treatment centers, have dealt with hundreds of thousands of people throughout the country since the outbreak of the pandemic.