New COVID-19 cases dipped below the 500-mark for the first time after staying below the 700-mark for six days on Thursday, with 499 new infections recorded over the past 24 hours. According to a statement from the Ministry of Health, 10 more people died due to complications caused by the virus over the past 24 hours. This brings the total number of confirmed infections in the Kingdom to 540,743 and the virus-related fatalities to 8,449. According to the ministry, a total of 877 people recovered over the past 24 hours, raising the total number of people free from the deadly virus to 526,436. The Riyadh region reported the highest number of new cases with 145, followed by the Makkah region with 84, the Jazan region with 49, and the Eastern region with 46 infections. The remaining cases were detected in other regions of the Kingdom with two of them reporting less than 10 infections. According to the ministry, there were 5,858 active cases and 1,234 of them were in critical condition.