RIYADH — Saudi Arabia on Saturday recorded 1,301 new COVID-19 cases and 17 deaths due to complications caused by the virus over the past 24 hours as the Health Ministry expanded its vaccination campaign. This brings the total number of confirmed infections in the Kingdom to 482,003 and the virus-related fatalities to 7,760. According to the ministry, a total of 1,376 people recovered over the past 24 hours, raising the total number of people free from the deadly virus to 463,004. The Makkah region reported the highest number of new cases with 306, followed by the Riyadh region with 298, the Eastern region with 225, and the Asir region with 185 infections. The remaining cases were detected in other regions of the Kingdom with just one of them reporting less than 10 infections. According to the ministry, there were 11,239 active cases and 1,450 of them were in critical condition. On Thursday, the Health Ministry announced that more than 17 million doses of the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine have been administered through 587 designated vaccine centers across Saudi Arabia. The announcement marking the passing of a major milestone comes as the ministry on Thursday also allowed people, who are aged 50 or above and taken their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, to book appointments for their second dose, using the Sehatty app. The number of doses administered till date is 17,097,241, the ministry said.