Coronavirus Cases Surpass 100,000 in Saudi Arabia

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Saudi Arabia has surpassed 100,000 amid a spike in diagnoses over the past two weeks. On Sunday, health officials in Riyadh reported 3,045 new infections, while the death toll rose by 36 – the highest daily tally since the start of the pandemic – to 721. In response, the kingdom has opened a temporary hospital in Jeddah as well as more than 30 walk-in clinics across the country. Saudi Arabia has the third-highest number of confirmed cases in the region after Turkey and Iran, where authorities announced 2,364 new infections in the 24-hour period ending Sunday night. The Iranian government attributed the jump to an increase in testing and not a surge in contagion. The Islamic Republic is considered the epicenter of the Middle East’s outbreak, with over 170,000 COVID-19 cases and 8,281 deaths. Many observers believe Tehran has underreported both figures.