RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Saturday confirmed 997 new COVID-19 infections in the previous 24 hours, meaning 738,331 people have now contracted the disease. According to the Ministry of Health, the highest number of cases were recorded in the capital Riyadh with 295, followed by Dammam with 86, Jeddah with 70, Hofuf confirmed 42, and Jazan recorded 30. Of the total number of cases, 876 remain in critical condition. The ministry confirmed one new coronavirus related death, raising the total number of fatalities to 8,982 since the pandemic began. The health ministry also announced that 1,928 patients had recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 709,420. Over 60.1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered since the Kingdom’s immunization campaign started. More than 24 million people have been fully vaccinated. The coronavirus pandemic has affected over 423 million people globally and the death toll has reached around 5.89 million.