Saudi Arabia declares victory over coronavirus

Agencies | Riyadh

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Saudi Arabia is among the countries in the region that have been successful in controlling the spread of coronavirus. Single-day coronavirus cases in the continue to have dipped below the 150-mark with only 139 infections reported on Sunday, according to a report in Saudi Gazette. This is the first time the figure has been under 150 since the pandemic struck in March.

A steady and drastic decline in new cases has been observed since mid-July. According to the Saudi Ministry of Health, 12 more patients died due to complications caused by the virus over the past 24 hours. This brings the total number of confirmed infections in the Kingdom to 359,888 and the deaths to 6,048.

“We’re among the countries with noticeable control and decrease in cases,” ministry spokesman Dr Mohammed Al-Abd Al-Aly was stated as saying in an Arab News report.

With number of cases recorded below 50 throughout the past week and more, the coronavirus case map shows that all the regions are in the country are in the ‘safe zone’.

With the steady fall in new infections, the active cases in the country also dropped to 3,291 out of which 499 were critical cases.

The use of the Pfizer-BioNTech novel coronavirus vaccine has already been approved in the country.

“The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA)... has approved the registration of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” an official Saudi Press Agency statement said.

The SFDA did not specify when it would begin the rollout of the vaccine by US pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech.

“Data reports from around the world about the vaccines are showing good signs,” Al-Aly said.

“Vaccines are important to ensure the safety of the community and public health. We reiterate the call for all to get the vaccine, including those who have recovered,” he added.