Ahead of Hajj, Saudi Arabia witnesses spike in Covid cases

Riyadh:  Ahead of Hajj, Saudi Arabia is witnessing a spike in COVID-19 cases.

Cases in Saudi Arabia recorded 955 on Thursday.  It is the highest number of daily cases reported in months. The number of confirmed infections has reached 772,269.

Two new deaths were recorded on Thursday, bringing the total COVID-19 fatalities to 9,165 in Saudi Arabia, according to the ministry’s website.

In March 2022, Saudi Arabia suspended the measures that had been imposed during the past two years to limit the spread of the pandemic and that is after the rate of vaccination significantly advanced.

The Kingdom lifted all measures, including social distancing, and a return to prayer in mosques with a commitment to putting the mask, and also abolished the quarantine requirement for those coming from abroad, and allowed entry to those coming from countries that had been prohibited for a long time.

The Kingdom on June 4, receive the first batch of Haj pilgrims from abroad this year, after two years of preventing the entry of pilgrims from abroad and limiting the performance of rituals to a limited number of people inside the country.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) too is witnessing a Covid resurgence

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention on Thursday reported 1,03 new COVID-19 cases – marking the highest daily toll of new infections since February, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.

This marks a significant rise from 867 on Wednesday, 572 cases on Tuesday, and 597 on Monday.

To date, the UAE has recorded 913,984 cases of COVID-19, 896,448 recoveries, and 2,305 deaths.