Saudi Arabia records 1,289 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia on Monday confirmed 1,289 new cases of the coronavirus — the highest daily increase — bringing the country’s tally infected to 18,811, according to the Health Ministry.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the kingdom has reached 144 with the five fatalities being recorded over the past 24 hours.

The ministry also confirmed 174 new recoveries, which brings the total number of patients who were cured to 2,531.

A spike in Saudi Arabia’s COVID-19 cases has been seen since the health ministry began running tests in suspected infection cluster areas nearly two weeks ago. According to the authorities, around 1 million people have been screened so far across the kingdom.