Saudi Arabia

Coronavirus: Daily cases more than doubled in Saudi Arabia

The number of daily coronavirus cases in Saudi Arabia has more than doubled over the past few days due to mass field testing, according to the health ministry.

Just last week, the Kingdom was recording about 500 new cases every 24 hours. But since Friday, when the health minister announced that medical teams had begun actively conducting mass coronavirus screenings in densely populated neighborhoods, the Kingdom has reported a growing number of cases every day.

On Saturday, the Kingdom reported its highest daily increase yet with 1,132 new cases – more than double the 518 new cases confirmed on Thursday, the day before mass screening was announced.

Medics in personal protective equipment (PPE) have been checking temperatures of residents and conducting coronavirus swab tests for people in their homes.

On Friday, the health ministry announced that 50 percent of the 762 new cases were detected through field testing. A day later, the percentage increased to 65 percent of the 1,132 new cases recorded. Today, newly infected had reduced to 1,088.

Most confirmed coronavirus cases in Saudi Arabia are of people living in densely populated residential areas, especially neighborhoods that house laborers, according to the health ministry.

A Health Ministry spokesman said increasing the testing capacity is a preventative measure that helps with early detection, therefore leading to faster containment.

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