Saudi Arabia has recorded 4,092 new COVID-19 cases and two virus-related deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the Kingdom’s Ministry of Health.
For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.
A total of 695,217 cases and 8,943 deaths have now been recorded in Saudi Arabia since the beginning of the pandemic.
In the last 24 hours, there were also 4,604 recoveries, bringing the total number to 649,334.
Authorities in the Kingdom have now administered a total of 57,578,139 vaccine doses to the country’s population of around 35 million.
Saudi Arabia recorded its first omicron case in early December, thought to have come from an undisclosed north African country.
Case numbers soared in January as the omicron variant spread worldwide, reaching an all-time-high of 5,928 on January 19.
The decision instructing people in Saudi Arabia to receive a booster vaccination shot against COVID-19 in order to activate a visible “immune” status in the Kingdom’s contact-tracing "Tawakkalna" app went into effect on February 1, according to the official SPA news agency.
An “immune” status in the app is required to attend events, enter government buildings, and travel by plane or public transport.
Read more:
WHO warns ‘premature’ to declare victory over COVID-19
Omicron subvariant BA.2 more infectious than ‘original,’ Danish study finds
Booster shot now required for ‘immune’ ‘Tawakkalna’ status in Saudi Arabia