Saudi Arabia Supports 'WHO' with $ 10 mln to Confront Coronavirus

 The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has shorty announced that it will provide $10 Million as financial support to the World Health Organization (WHO) to combat the deadly coronavirus.

The kingdom also decided on Sunday evening to halt its flights to and from nine countries, namely Egypt, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, South Korea, Italy, and Iraq.

Saudi Arabia announced that a temporary lock down has been imposed on the eastern Qatif province, an oil-producing region and home to a large Shi’ite Muslim population, to help contain the spread of corona virus after 11 people there were infected.

According to an official statement by the ministry of Interior, no one would be allowed to enter or exit Qatif and that work at all public and private sectors in the province had been suspended with the exception of institutions providing necessary services.

All the inpiduals who had been diagnosed with the disease in the kingdom have either been to Iran or interacted with people who visited the Islamic Republic, home to major Shi’ite holy sites.

The statement added that commercial supplies would continue to flow to the region.

Earlier, Saudi authorities exerted sincere efforts to prevent transmission of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in preparation to eliminate it, and to protect the health of citizens and expatriates and ensure their safety, according to a statement released by the Saudi state Press Agency, SPA n Saturday.

On the other hand, the state-owned flag carrier EgyptAir on Monday announced the suspension of its flights to Saudi Arabia due to the new coronavirus (COVID-19), which is continuing to spread in the Middle East.

The Egyptian company said that all flights to Dammam, Qassim, Abha, Jeddah, Riyadh, and Al Madinah Al Munawarah will be suspended until further notice.

The state’s Health Ministry announced on Sunday it reported the first coronavirus death for a German national. He was 60.

On Saturday, the tests, conducted to the man, were positive. The case was moved to an intensive care unit at the hospital and refused to go to the isolation hospital because he suffered from respiratory failure due to acute pneumonia.

Immediately, the ministry, in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO), took the required protective measures and sterilized the hospital.