RIYADH: Saudi Arabia confirmed three new COVID-19 related deaths on Wednesday, raising the total number of fatalities to 8,785. The Ministry of Health confirmed 55 new cases reported in the Kingdom in the previous 24 hours, meaning 548,423 people have now contracted the disease. Of the total number of cases, 64 remain in critical condition. According to the ministry, the highest number of cases were recorded in the capital Riyadh with 23, followed by Jeddah with eight, Makkah recorded three, and Madinah, Khobar, Yanbu and Rumah recorded two cases each. The health ministry also announced that 42 patients had recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 537,418. Over 45.4 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered since the Kingdom’s immunization campaign started. More than 21.3 million people have been fully vaccinated. Saudi municipalities have also ramped up efforts to monitor compliance with health and safety measures. The municipality of Tabuk carried out more than 12,000 inspection tours of commercial centers and facilities during the past week. Authorities recorded several violations and closed a number of businesses for not adhering to the precautionary measures. Officials have also called on the public to report any suspected health breaches by phoning the 940 call center number or contacting authorities through the Balady app. The coronavirus pandemic has affected over 245 million people globally and the death toll has reached around 4.98 million.