DUBAI (REUTERS) - The number of coronavirus cases in Saudi Arabia topped 50,000 on Saturday (May 16), the health ministry said.

A ministry official reported 2,840 new cases, taking the cumulative total to 51,980.

That was up from an average of around 1,500 new cases a day over the past week.

The death toll in the kingdom increased by 10 to 302, the official said on state TV.

Saudi Arabia recorded its first Covid-19 infection on March 2, several weeks after the initial outbreak in Asia.