Kuwait, Jul 12: A 60-year-old Jordanian man died while praying at a mosque in Kuwait and doctors said he had suffered from a massive heart attack.
The man was performing dawn prayers along with many other Muslims in the capital Kuwait City when he collapsed, newspapers said, adding that he was rushed to hospital but was already dead.
Dubai, Mar 18: Emirates, one of the world's biggest international airlines, has asked pilots to take unpaid leave to help it mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic that has shattered demand for global travel.
"To this end you are strongly encouraged to make use of this opportunity to volunteer for additional paid and unpaid leave," the airline said in an internal email to pilots, seen by Reuters.
Emirates earlier this month asked some staff to take unpaid leave, although at that time it was not available to pilots.
Dubai, May 2: Saudi Arabia has confirmed 1,362 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of COVID-19 patients in the country to 25,459, the Ministry of Health reported Saturday.
In the daily media briefing, the ministry announced 7 more deaths and 210 new recoveries, raising the total number of fatalities and recoveries to 176 and 3,765, respectively.
Out of the 1,362 new cases reported today, 249 were confirmed in Medina, 245 in Jeddah, 244 in Mecca, 161 in Riyadh, in addition to 126 infections in Dammam, 81 in Khobar and 80 in Jubail.
Dr. Mohammed Al Abd Al Aly, spokesman for Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health reiterated that so far there was no evidence that hot weather will curtail the spread of coronavirus.
Authorities continue to urge people to stay at home unless necessary despite having relaxed some restrictions and curfews at the start of Ramadan.
Riyadh, Jul 16: Prince Abdul Aziz bin Saud bin Naif, minister of interior and chairman of the Hajj Supreme Committee, chaired a virtual meeting on Wednesday with the heads of security agencies and officials in charge of this year’s Hajj season.
During the meeting, the minister and security officials discussed organizational issues related to Hajj, including preventive and precautionary steps related to fighting the coronavirus disease, procedures related to pilgrims commuting to the holy sites, and mechanisms to facilitate performing the Hajj rituals.
Prince Abdul Aziz confirmed abiding by the directives of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to take all precautions to preserve the safety of the pilgrims, and facilitate their performance of their Hajj rituals, according to the highest health standards to contain the new coronavirus pandemic.
Saudi Arabia has decided to allow only a limited number of domestic pilgrims to perform Hajj this year in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Only those expatriates between the ages of 20 and 50 who are not suffering from any chronic diseases can apply for the pilgrimage.
Earlier, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah said that requests from people of 160 nationalities in the Kingdom have been screened electronically to select who will perform Hajj this year.
Of the pilgrims who will receive approval, 70 percent will be non-Saudis residing in the Kingdom and the remaining 30 percent will be Saudi citizens.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior said that anyone found entering the sites of Hajj (Mina, Muzdalifah and Arafat) without a permit from July 18 till the end of Dhu Al-Hijjah 12 will be issued with a fine of SR10,000 ($2,600).
The fine will be doubled if the offence is repeated. Security personnel will be posted on roads leading to the holy sites to ensure that anyone who breaks the law will be stopped and fined.
Around 2.5 million foreign and domestic pilgrims performed Hajj last year.
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