Deema Al-Khudair

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s Takkad centers have launched a 24-hour testing service as part of an early detection campaign to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Tetamman clinics and Takkad centers have carried out more than 2 million polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests across the Kingdom since the start of the pandemic.

Takkad centers are designated for those who have no symptoms or only mild symptoms, but who believe they might have come into contact with a person infected with COVID-19.

Commenting on Saudi Arabia’s participation in vaccine clinical trials, Ministry of Health spokesman Dr. Mohammed Al-Abd Al-Aly said on Wednesday that the Kingdom is committed to joining the global effort to find a COVID-19 vaccine.

“Effectiveness and safey are priorities for clinical trials conducted in Saudi Arabia,” he said. “The Kingdom has been participating since the beginning of the pandemic to support all research departments and efforts in finding a cure and treatment.”

A total of 1,569 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the Kingdom on Wednesday, meaning 293,037 people in Saudi Arabia have now contracted the disease. There were 32,499 active cases, 1,826 of which were critical.

Al-Aly announced 2,151 new recoveries, taking the total number to 257,269, while 36 new fatalities were reported, raising the death toll to 3,269.

More than 4 million polymerase tests have been carried out in the Kingdom, including 67,676 in the past 24 hours.