DUBAI, March 8 — Saudi Arabia’s authorities have recorded four news cases of the coronavirus, taking the total of infections to 11, the kingdom’s health ministry said on Twitter today.
The new four individuals, which include three women, have interacted with another case reported previously who had been in Iran but did not disclose his travel details to the authorities.
The individual travelled from Iran via the United Arab Emirates, the ministry said.
Iran has emerged as an epicentre for the disease in the Middle East. The Islamic republic has reported 145 deaths from the virus on March 7, putting it on a par with Italy as the country with the highest death toll outside China.
Saudi Arabia banned travel to Iran and said legal actions will be taken against any Saudi national travelling there. Riyadh also called on Tehran to disclose the identity of Saudi citizens who visited Iran since February 1.
The Saudi government restricted land crossings with the UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain yesterday to commercial trucks only, adding that passenger arrivals will be limited to three airports in the country.
Bahrain said today its Formula One Grand Prix will go ahead this month without spectators due to the coronavirus crisis, a blow to the Gulf’s Arab states important tourism sector.
In the UAE, where number of coronavirus cases has risen to 45, a Wizz Air press conference in Abu Dhabi, planned on Tuesday, has been cancelled due to the coronavirus, organisers said today.
Kuwait recorded one new case of the disease today, bringing its infection tally to 62, the Gulf state’s health ministry said. Qatar reported its 12th case on Saturday.
Kuwait’s central bank said today it was setting up a 10 million Kuwaiti dinar (RM137 million) fund to support government efforts to fight the virus. — Reuters
