Citizens wishing to travel to countries on the banned list for humanitarian cases can apply through Absher electronic platform Ministry of Interior records 22,380 violations against precautionary measures in past week JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia confirmed two new COVID-19 related deaths on Sunday, raising the total number of fatalities to 8,724. The Ministry of Health confirmed 41 new cases reported in the Kingdom in the previous 24 hours, meaning 547,262 people have now contracted the disease. Of the total number of cases, 181 remain in critical condition. According to the ministry, the highest number of cases were recorded in the capital Riyadh with 11 cases, followed by Jeddah with 10, Madinah and Khobar confirmed three cases each, and Tabuk, Makkah and Hail reported one case each. The health ministry also announced that 49 patients had recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 536,330. Over 42.3 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 General Directorate of Passports announced that citizens wishing to travel to countries on the banned list for humanitarian cases, can apply through the Ministry of Interior’s Absher electronic platform, without the need to visit its headquarters. The service allows citizens to request travel permits for specific reasons, including permanent residence abroad, death of a relative, accompanying a citizen receiving treatment abroad, and citizens donating organs to their relatives receiving treatment abroad. The Ministry of Interior reported 22,380 in the past week, with the highest recorded in Riyadh with 8,238, followed by the Eastern Province with 3,519, Makkah with 2,265, and Qassim with 2,004. Najran recorded the lowest number of violations with 164. Municipalities in the Kingdom have shut down multiple commercial outlets as part of their efforts to monitor compliance with health and safety measures to stop the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The Eastern Province Municipality closed 14 facilities during 9,176 inspection tours carried out in the past week. Authorities also issued fines to 428 other businesses. Jeddah Municipality closed 47 businesses and fined 67 others for violating measures during 8,585 monitoring rounds over the past two days. The coronavirus pandemic has affected over 235 million people globally and the death toll has reached around 4.81 million.