Saudi Arabia reports 4,919 new COVID-19 cases

Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-18 00:09:58|Editor: huaxia

RIYADH, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia on Wednesday reported 4,919 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the accumulated infections to 141,234.

The kingdom reported 39 new fatalities, bringing the death toll to 1,092. It also registered 2,122 recoveries in the last 24 hours, raising the recovered cases to 91,662.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia announced the accreditation of Dexamethasone as part of the treatment protocol for COVID-19 patients.

The Health Ministry said that the medicine, which is among the Cortisone family, is prescribed to critical patients, the Saudi Press Agency.

It highlighted that the Dexamethasone reduces the chances of death by 35 percent for COVID-19 patients who are on ventilators in the ICUs.

Saudi Arabia and China have supported each other in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

In mid-February, the kingdom offered generous support to China to help fight the deadly virus at the early stage of its outbreak. On March 11, Saudi Arabia delivered to the Chinese city of Wuhan a shipment of medical aid.

As the virus raged in Saudi Arabia, a team of eight Chinese medical experts visited the kingdom on April 15 to assist its anti-coronavirus fight. On April 26, the two sides signed a deal worth 265 million U.S. dollars for expanding Saudi Arabia's coronavirus testing capacity. Enditem

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