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- The 10 students were undergoing final checks and procedures
- The Saudi Health Ministry had initially announced the students were not infected with the new coronavirus
JEDDAH: The 10 Saudi students who returned from Wuhan, China, on Feb. 2 have been declared as being coronavirus-free.
According to Al Arabiya, they have been receiving two check-ups for fevers and flu daily since they returned and every three days have had saliva-testing to see if the coronavirus was spreading among them.
The students were kept under quarantine at the North Riyadh Hospital in Diriyah, which is not yet open to the public.
The faculty assured that the students are free of the virus and are not carrying it.
They have been staying there and living a normal but secluded life for 14 days. One of the students spoke to Sayidaty Magazine about the few days before he left Wuhan.
Abdulhakeem Al-Asheikh had remained in China when the virus began to spread, expecting it to pass and things to return to normal in a matter of days, so that he could continue his graduation plan.
“Suddenly, the virus began to spread rapidly, transportation had been stopped across the country, and it was isolated from the rest of the world,” said Al-Asheikh.
“The situation was getting out of control and I began to fear for my life. I wouldn’t leave my house except for emergencies.”
The students had remained in a state of fear until they received a call from the ambassador, Turki Al-Madi, who had been given royal orders to send the students back to the Kingdom.
Al-Asheikh said he agreed with the decision to quarantine them to ensure the students’ safety and everyone else around them. Another student, Abdulrahman Al-Turaiman, described the panic in Wuhan to the magazine.
FASTFACT
The students were kept under quarantine at the North Riyadh Hospital in Diriyah, which is not yet open to the public. The faculty assured that the students are free of the virus and are not carrying it. They have been staying there and living a normal but secluded life for 14 days.
“We were always anxious and frightened of catching the virus, and we had to wear disposable masks whenever we absolutely had to go out,” he said. Al-Turaiman was also in Wuhan when the virus broke out.
He said that the city was on complete lockdown, with no operational trains, flights, restaurants or supermarkets to avoid the spreading of the virus.
A small celebration is to be held by the Ministry of Health officials to commemorate the end of their quarantine period, and some of them will be catching the earliest flight to their homes in Madinah.
As of Feb. 16, the Ministry of Health has revealed that there have not been any cases of coronavirus in the Kingdom.