LOC14:17
11:17 GMT
RIYADH, Feb 7 (KUNA) -- Saudi Arabia declared on Monday recording three new deaths as a result of infection with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in addition to 3,747 contamination cases over the last hours.
The Saudi Ministry of Health said in a statement that the death toll linked to the pandemic has reached, so far, 8,957 and the tally of the cases settled at 712,644 since the pandemic outbreak in the kingdom.
Meanwhile, number of the recoveries in the kingdom rose to a total of 670,780, including 4,083 newly registered ones.
Latest global update of the coronavirus casualties put the tally of the contamination cases at 395 million and the death toll at 5.74 million.
The first outbreak o the pandemic was reported in the heart of China late 2019. According to strong theories, the virus it originated in traded wild animals used for food by locals.
The virus had soon spilled over in all directions of the hemisphere reaching the Middle East and the Gulf, where member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council had scrambled to stem its spread with a host of precautions.
Saudi Arabia is a member country of the GCC, founded in the early 80s of the past century, which also includes Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia. (end)
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