Saudi Arabia announces 24 new cases of coronavirus

Saudi Arabia announces 24 new cases of coronavirus
A man wears a protective face mask as he walks in Qatif, Saudi Arabia Mar. 10, 2020. (Reuters)
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Updated 13 March 2020
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Saudi Arabia announces 24 new cases of coronavirus

Saudi Arabia announces 24 new cases of coronavirus
  • A Saudi woman who had traveled to France and a Saudi man who had traveled to Italy are among the new cases
  • The total number of coronavirus cases in the Kingdom is now 86

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health announced on Friday that 24 new cases of coronavirus had been detected.

This brings the total of coronavirus cases in the Kingdom to 86, with one recovery reported.

A Saudi woman who had traveled to France and has been quarantined in Riyadh and a Saudi man who had traveled to Italy and is now in quarantine in Qatif are among the new cases reported.

The ministry added that seven other people who came into contact with previously announced cases of coronavirus are in isolation in the Eastern Province.

14 Egyptians and one Bangladeshi citizen have also been infected after having contact with previously announced cases of people with coronavirus and they are in quarantine in Makkah.

Most of the cases were associated with travel or transit with countries that recorded the spread of the virus.

With that in mind, the ministry called for anyone who recently visited a country in which the coronavirus has spread to immediately contact its service center by calling the toll-free number, 937.

The ministry also told people arriving in the Kingdom on or after these dates from the following countries to self- isolate to prevent the spread of coronavirus;

Feb. 28 onward: China, Japan, South Korea, Italy, Turkey, Singapore, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Iran, Syria.

Mar. 8 onward: France, Spain, Indonesia, Switzerland, Germany.

Mar. 11 onward: Austria, Denmark, UK, USA, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden.

A Ministry of Health spokesman added that it was continuing its preventive measures at the highest levels, including epidemiological investigations.

It said more than 600,000 passengers had been screened and sorted through ports and more than 4,800 advanced laboratory examinations of suspected cases had been conducted in the national laboratory.