RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health recorded on Friday 286 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, marking a steady drop in new COVID-19 cases. Sixteen more patients died from complications caused by the virus over the past 24 hours, the statement added. This brings the total number of confirmed infections in the Kingdom to 354,813 and virus-related fatalities to 5,745. The ministry also reported 448 new recoveries over the past 24 hours, raising the total number of people free from the deadly virus to 342,404. Riyadh recorded the highest number of daily infections with 76 cases followed by Hail with 30, Madinah with 28, and Dammam with 15 cases. The remaining cases were detected in different cities and governorates across the Kingdom. With the steady drop in the number of daily cases and the spike in recoveries, the active cases in the Kingdom also came down significantly with 6,664 reported on Friday, and out of the total, 793 were critical cases. — SG