Saudi Arabia records 3,168 COVID-19 cases and two deaths in 24 hours

Saudi Arabia recorded 3,168 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, according to the Kingdom’s Ministry of Health.

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In that time, two people also died of virus-related causes, and 608 recovered.

A total of 8,888 people have died from COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia, and 568,650 cases have been recorded overall.

Cases have been rising rapidly in recent weeks.

On Wednesday, case numbers passed the 3,000 mark for the first time since July 2020.

The first case of the omicron variant was detected in Saudi Arabia on December 1.

That case was traced to an unnamed north African country, according to the official SPA news agency.

Days before the announcement, authorities banned flights to and from Malawi, Zambia, Madagascar, Angola, Seychelles, Mauritius, and Comoros.

Saudi Arabia last week reimposed social distancing measures at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Mecca, as case numbers climbed.

Workers returned floor markings guiding people to social distance, which were removed on October 17.

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