New COVID-19 cases dropped below the 200-mark for the third straight day on Friday with 174 new infections recorded over the past 24 hours after continuing to slide in the last three weeks from the 500-mark. According to a statement from the Ministry of Health, 5 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 544,985 and the virus-related fatalities to 8,565. According to the ministry, a total of 202 people recovered over the past 24 hours, raising the total number of people free from the deadly virus to 533,632. The Riyadh region reported the highest number of new cases with 55, followed by the Makkah region with 31, the Eastern region with 19, and the Al Qassim region with 12 infections. The remaining cases were detected in other regions of the Kingdom with six of them reporting less than 10 infections. According to the ministry, there were 2,788 active cases and 803 of them were in critical condition.