60 people were arrested in Hail for violating preventive measures Jeddah Municipality closed 36 commercial establishments and issued fines to 36 others for violating coronavirus measures RIYADH: Saudi Arabia recorded 10 new COVID-19 related deaths on Thursday, raising the total number of fatalities to 8,449. The Ministry of Health confirmed 499 new cases reported in the Kingdom in the previous 24 hours, meaning 540,743 people have now contracted the disease. Of the total number of cases, 5,858 remain active and 1,234 in critical condition. According to the ministry, the highest number of cases were recorded in the capital Riyadh with 145, followed by Makkah with 84, Jazan with 49, the Eastern Province recorded 46, and Asir confirmed 43 cases. The health ministry also announced that 877 patients had recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 526,436. Over 33 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been administered in the Kingdom to date through 587 centers. The ministry renewed its call on the public to register with the Sehhaty app to receive the vaccine, and adhere to the measures and abide by instructions. Meanwhile, some 60 people were arrested in Hail for violating preventive measures that stipulate no more than 20 people can gather at one point. The media spokesman for Hail Police, Capt. Tariq Al-Nassar, said legal measures have been taken against them and penalties were applied against the host, the person in charge of the facility, and everyone who attended the gathering. The Jeddah Municipality closed 36 commercial establishments and issued fines to 36 others for violating preventive measures, during 4,278 monitoring rounds carried out on Wednesday. The Eastern Province Municipality carried out 1,426 inspection tours of commercial centers and facilities on Wednesday and registered 74 violations. Officials have urged the public to report any suspected health breaches by phoning the 940 call center number or using the Balady app. The coronavirus pandemic has affected over 210 million people globally and the death toll has reached around 4.41 million.