JEDDAH: As the daily number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Saudi Arabia continues to hover between 950 and 1,100, authorities are calling on residents to remain careful and vigilant as they prepare for Eid Al-Fitr. With the holiday only a few days away, shoppers are urged to remain on high alert and choose online shopping rather than visiting packed malls. Warnings have been issued that store closures are imminent if commercial establishments fail to abide by the required health and safety precautions and ensure social distancing is maintained. It comes after more than two weeks of rising numbers of infections during Ramadan to more than 1,000 a day, which authorities said is the result of people failing to follow rules on social distancing and gatherings. On Monday, health authorities in the Kingdom recorded 986 new cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), meaning 427,370 people in the country have contracted the disease. The highest number of new infections was in the Riyadh region with 339, followed by the Makkah region with 283, and the Eastern Province with 131. Only two regions reported single-digit increases: The Northern Borders, with eight, and Jouf, with five. An additional 1,076 people have recovered, according to health authorities, raising the total number of recoveries to 410,816. This means the recovery rate in the Kingdom has increased slightly to 96.1 percent. HIGH LIGHTS • Saudi Arabia recorded 986 new infections on Monday. • 1,076 more people have recovered from the disease. • The death toll rises to 7,085 with 13 new fatalities. The number of active cases has been decreasing lately as recoveries increase. A Ministry of Health spokesman noted that the fluctuating case numbers are a positive sign, but reiterated that the country is not in the clear just yet. “The fluctuation could be an indicator that the cases are stabilizing,” he said on Sunday. According to the figures announced on Monday, there are currently 9,469 active cases. Of these, 341 patients are in critical condition. Thirteen additional deaths related to COVID-19 were reported, raising the total to 7,085. More than 10.6 million doses of COVID vaccines have been administered since vaccinations began in December. Nearly 31 percent of the Kingdom’s 34.8 million population have received at least one dose. A total of 70,822 PCR tests for COVID-19 were carried out in the past 24 hours, raising the total number of tests in the Kingdom to nearly 17.6 million. Saudi health clinics set up by the Ministry of Health as testing hubs or treatment centers have dealt with hundreds of thousands of people throughout the country since the start of the pandemic. Taakad (make sure) centers provide COVID-19 tests for those who show no, or only mild, symptoms or believe they have been in contact with an infected individual. More than 9.7 million tests have been conducted at Taakad facilities. Tetamman (rest-assured) clinics offer treatment and advice to those with more severe virus symptoms, such as breathing difficulties, fever, and loss of taste and smell. They have seen more than 2.5 million patients so far. In addition, the Ministry of Health’s 937 call centers have received more than 35.2 million inquiries from people seeking medical advice.