RIYADH — Saudi Arabia on Sunday detected 2,779 new coronavirus cases and reported 42 COVID-19 deaths, bringing the total number of confirmed infections in the Kingdom to 232,259 and the virus-related death toll to 2,223, a health ministry spokesman said. The figures released by the ministry of health on Sunday showed that the downward trend in the recorded infections in the Kingdom is continuing. On Saturday, there were 2,994 new coronavirus cases, while on Friday and Thursday the cases were 3,159, and 3,183 respectively. Riyadh recorded the highest number of daily cases with 247 new infections. It was followed by Jeddah with 191 new cases, 162 in Hufof, and 157 in Dammam. The other infections were reported in cities and provinces across the country. Meanwhile, 1,742 people recovered from the coronavirus, which raises the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 167,138, ministry spokesman Dr. Muhammad Al-Abdel Ali was quoted by Saudi Press Agency (SPA) as saying. Half of the critical cases being treated in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in Saudi Arabia are of people above the age of 60, the spokesman said. People between the ages of 40 to 60 make up a third of those in the ICUs, he added. When asked if it was safe for people to hold gatherings, the spokesman said that it was safe as long as everyone followed precautionary measures, such as refraining from shaking hands, keeping a safe distance between one another, and limiting gatherings to a maximum of 50 people.