Saudi Arabia’s Coronavirus Cases Exceed 200,000

Restrictions had been in place in both countries since mid-March and their gradual lifting has allowed commercial businesses and public venues to reopen.

Other Persian Gulf countries have also moved to ease restrictions, although Kuwait has maintained a partial curfew and Qatar, Bahrain and Oman did not impose one at all, the Daily Star reported.

Saudi Arabia, which has the highest count among the six Persian Gulf states, reported more than 4,100 cases Friday and Saturday to take its total to 205,929, with 1,858 deaths. The daily tally first rose above 4,000 in mid-June, but had dipped.

The United Arab Emirates, where daily infection rates recently dropped to between 300 and 400 from a peak of some 900 in late May, registered more than 600 cases Friday and over 700 Saturday, taking its toll to 50,857, with 321 deaths.

Dubai, the region's business and tourism hub is due to reopen to foreign visitors on July 7, although this has not been implemented at a federal level in the UAE, which does not provide a breakdown of cases for each of its seven emirates.

Qatar, which has the second-highest regional infection rate, has seen its daily case numbers fall from a peak of more than 2,000 in late May to around 500 on Saturday, bringing it near to 100,000 cases in total.

In Oman, the health minister warned Thursday that there had been a disturbing surge in infections in the last six weeks and urged people to comply with health measures.