DUBAI: Saudi Arabia has registered its highest daily number of new COVID-19 infections so far, health ministry data showed, breaking through 5,000 cases on Wednesday.

Cases in the kingdom, which has the Gulf's largest population at around 35 million, have risen dramatically since the start of the year with the global spread of the Omicron variant.

The kingdom on Wednesday reported 5,362 new cases and two deaths, rising above the previous peak of daily infections in June 2020 of 4,919.

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Mask wearing in public in Saudi Arabia has been compulsory since the start of the year.

Other Gulf Arab states have also seen infections surge in the past month, with Kuwait and Qatar also breaking through previous daily case records.