RIYADH: Saudi Arabia confirmed one new COVID-19 related death on Wednesday, raising the total number of fatalities to 8,799. The Ministry of Health confirmed 49 new cases reported in the Kingdom in the previous 24 hours, meaning 548,760 people have now contracted the disease. Of the total number of cases, 54 remain in critical condition. According to the ministry, the highest number of cases were recorded in the capital Riyadh with 18, followed by Jeddah with eight, Madinah and Makkah confirmed three cases each, and Taif and Dammam recorded two cases each. The health ministry also announced that 37 patients had recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 537,690. Over 46.1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered since the Kingdom’s immunization campaign started. More than 21.6 million people have been fully vaccinated. Saudi municipalities have ramped up efforts to monitor compliance with health and safety measures. The municipality of Eastern Province carried out 1,388 inspection tours of commercial centers and facilities on Tuesday. Authorities recorded 75 violations and closed one business for not adhering to the precautionary measures. Jeddah Municipality carried out 8,940 tours over the past three days and field teams closed 35 commercial outlets for breaching protocols. 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 248 million people globally and the death toll has reached around 5.03 million.