COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia


The COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. On 2 March 2020, the Ministry of Health confirmed the first case in Saudi Arabia. By 8 April, as many as 150 members of the Saudi royal family had tested positive including the king's nephew, Faisal bin Bandar Al Saud, who has been put in the ICU of an elite hospital over coronavirus complications.
As of 16 July, the kingdom has 243,238 confirmed cases, the highest among the Arabian Gulf States, with 187,622 recoveries and 2,370 deaths.

Background

On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a group of people in the city of Wuhan, Hubei in China which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.
The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003, but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.

Timeline

March 2020

Closure of Mecca and Medina

On 27 February 2020, Saudi Arabia announced a temporary suspension of entry for Muslims wanting to perform the Umrah pilgrimage in Great Mosque of Mecca or to visit the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah. On 5 March, further precautionary measures were taken regarding the safety of the Islamic holy sites, including temporary daily closure of the Great Mosque for sterilization purposes. On 19 March, Saudi Arabia suspended the holding of daily prayers and the Friday prayers in and outside the two mosques in Mecca and Medina to limit the spread of coronavirus. Similar measures were carried out across the country during the same week. On 20 March, Saudi Arabia suspended entry and praying to the general public at the two Holy Mosques in Mecca and Medina to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
On 30 May 2020, Saudi Arabia announced that mosques will start to re-open from 31 May, except for Great Mosque of Mecca. On 19 June, the state television announced that mosques in Mecca will be allowed to reopen from 21 June "if they follow preventative health measures against COVID-19."

Repatriation of Saudi citizens

On 2 February 10 Saudi students were repatriated from Wuhan. It was announced the next day that all of them had tested negative for COVID-19. However, they were kept in quarantine for two additional weeks before allowed to return home.

Mobility and transport

On 6 February, Saudi Arabia had announced a travel ban to China on citizens and residents. On 28 February, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia announced the temporary suspension of entry for Gulf Cooperation Council citizens to Makkah and Madinah. Citizens of the GCC who had been in Saudi Arabia for more than 14 consecutive days and didn't show any symptoms of the COVID-19 would be excluded from this rule. Saudi Arabia has suspended direct passenger flights between the Kingdom and China since early February. On 20 March, The Ministry of Interior suspended domestic flights, trains, buses and taxis for 14 days in a heightened effort to stop the spread of the COVID-19. The new measure was put in place on 2 March 2020.

Curfews

On 8 March, the Saudi Arabian government announced that it was temporarily halting all transport in and out of the Qatif Governorate, though residents of the area would be permitted to enter the city. The country's Ministry of Interior stated that all individuals with confirmed cases in the country were from Qatif. On 24 March, a nation-wide curfew was put into place with movement restricted to between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. On 30 March, the Jeddah Governorate was subjected to a curfew by the Ministry of Interior, with all movement to and from the city suspended. The holy cities of Makkah and Madinah were subjected to a 24-hour curfew starting 2 April. On 6 April, it was announced that 24-hour curfews would be implemented in the cities of Riyadh, Dammam, Tabuk, Dhahran and Hofuf and the governorates of Jeddah, Ta'if, Khobar and Qatif, with movement restricted to only essential travel between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m.
On 5 June, Saudi Arabia re-imposed curfew and restrictions in Jeddah from 6 to 20 June. The restrictions include suspension of prayers in all mosques in the city.

Other measures

On 7 March, the General Sports Authority of Saudi Arabia announced that all sports competitions would be held behind closed doors. In addition, it was also announced that the 2020 Saudi Olympics that were scheduled to be held from 23 March to 1 April were suspended until further notice. On 14 March, the Ministry announced that all sports competitions would be suspended until further notice along with the closure of all stadiums, sports centers and gyms. On 8 March, the Saudi Ministry of Education announced that all educational institutions, including public and private schools, technical and vocational training institutions will be closed in Saudi Arabia to control the spread of the virus. On 14 March, the Saudi Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs announced that they would be closing all amusement parks and entertainment zones in malls. Sterilization of all restaurants was also made a priority. In addition, the ministry also announced that they would be banning all social events, including funerals and weddings. On 15 March, the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs further announced the closure of all shopping malls, restaurants, coffee shops, and public parks and buildings with the exception of pharmacies and supermarkets. Some people have been arrested for allegedly spreading false information about the coronavirus pandemic.
On 11 June, the Ministry of Sports announced the resumption of sports activities with training starting on 21 June and games starting after 4 August but without public attendance of fans.

Economic measures

On 10 May 2020, Saudi Arabia announced suspension of the 1000 riyals/month cost-of-living allowance from 1 June, and an increase in the value-added tax from 5% to 15% from 1 July. The Kingdom will also cut spending by 100 billion riyals. The measures are due to a budget deficit of in the first quarter of 2020, decline in oil prices, and the economic effects of the pandemic.

Statistics