JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health announced that patients who test positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) after receiving the first vaccine shot will have to wait six months before the second vaccine shot can be administered. “The second dose will be rescheduled for those infected with the virus after receiving the first dose of the vaccine, and it will be after six months of recovery,” the ministry said. If someone comes into contact with an infected person 14 days after either receiving the first or second vaccine shot and does not show any COVID-19 symptoms, the ministry will not require the person to quarantine. People living with large groups are the exception. In the event COVID-19 symptoms appear, the person should isolate and undergo a PCR test. Saudi Arabia on Friday reported 11 more COVID-19-related deaths, taking the national death toll to 7,320. There were 1,215 new cases, meaning that 447,178 people in the country have now contracted the virus. A total of 10,195 cases remained active while 1,355 patients were in critical condition. IN NUMBERS 447,178 Total cases 429,663 Recoveries 7,320 Deaths 10,195 Active cases Of the newly recorded cases, 345 were in Riyadh, followed by Makkah (324), the Eastern Province (145) and Madinah (96). In addition, the ministry said 1,161 patients have recovered from the disease, increasing the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 429,663. Saudi Arabia had so far conducted 18.9 million polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests with 92,566 carried out in the past 24 hours. Testing hubs and treatment centers are set up throughout the country and have dealt with hundreds of thousands of people since the COVID-19 pandemic started. Taakad (make sure) centers provide COVID-19 testing for those who show no or only mild symptoms or believe they have come into contact with an infected individual. Tetamman (rest assured) clinics offer treatment and advice to those with virus symptoms such as fever, loss of taste and smell, and breathing difficulties. Appointments for both services can be made via the ministry’s Sehhaty app. Meanwhile, 13.6 million people in the country have received a jab against COVID-19.