JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia confirmed three new COVID-19 related deaths on Thursday, raising the total number of fatalities to 8,716. The Ministry of Health confirmed 44 new cases reported in the Kingdom in the previous 24 hours, meaning 547,134 people have now contracted the disease. Of the total number of cases, 212 remain in critical condition. According to the ministry, the highest number of cases were recorded in the capital Riyadh with 12 cases, followed by Jeddah with seven, Buraidah and Khaybar confirmed two cases each, and Thuwal reported one case. ​ The health ministry also announced that 53 patients had recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 536,178. Over 42 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. The coronavirus pandemic has affected over 234 million people globally and the death toll has reached around 4.79 million.