Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia cases pass 35,000

Qatar at 17,000 has the second-highest Covid-19 cases in the GCC

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Saudi Arabia's Covid-19 cases topped 35,000 on Friday as the kingdom enforced a ban on gatherings of more than five people and set large fines for violators.

Officials reported 1,701 new cases, taking the total to 35,432.

The kingdom has recorded a daily average of more than 1,000 new cases since mid-April.

Despite the rising cases, the kingdom’s death toll has remained relatively low, increasing by 10 on Friday to 229.

Saudi Arabia has placed tough measures on the public to curb the spread of the pandemic.

The Interior Ministry said on Thursday that violators would be fined up to 100,000 Saudi riyals (Dh98,000) for any form of non-family gathering with more than five people and that the fines would increase for repeat offenders.

A dedicated police force is being established to enforce the new rules.

Among other GCC countries, Qatar recorded 1,311 on Friday, taking the total to 17,819 – the second-highest the region.

The country did not report any new deaths, with the toll remaining at 12.

Doha's Health Ministry said 84 people have recovered during the past 24 hours, taking the total to 2,370.

The ministry said 3,963 people were tested for the virus over the last day, taking the total to 120,458 tests.

Kuwait reported 641 new cases and three more deaths from Covid-19 on Friday, bringing the infection figures to 7,208, with 47 fatalities.

The number of recoveries rose by 85 to 2,466, the health ministry said.

Oman reported 154 coronavirus cases on Friday taking the total to 3,112.

The Oman Ministry of Health said 15 people have died while 1,025 people have recovered.

In Bahrain,  205 cases reported on Friday took the total to 4,404.

The Health Ministry said that 27 patients have recovered during the past 24 hours, bringing the recoveries to 2,027.

The country has recorded eight deaths.

The health ministry said that 170,719 people have been tested, including 6206 carried out in the past 24 hours.