Mar 24: Saudi Arabia has recorded its first death from the coronavirus in a 51-year-old Afghani resident, Health Ministry spokesman Mohammed Abdelali told a televised news conference on Tuesday.
The man's health deteriorated quickly after reporting to a hospital emergency room in the city of Medina and he died on Monday night, Abdelali said.
Riyadh, Feb 27: Saudi Arabia on Thursday halted travel to the holiest sites in Islam over fears about a new viral epidemic just months ahead of the annual hajj pilgrimage, a move coming as the Mideast has over 220 confirmed cases of the illness.
The extraordinary decision by Saudi Arabia stops foreigners from reaching the holy city of Mecca and the Kaaba, the cube-shaped structure the world's 1.8 billion Muslims pray toward five times a day. It also said travel was suspended to Prophet Muhammad's mosque in Medina.
The decision showed the worry about the outbreak potentially spreading into Saudi Arabia, whose oil-rich monarchy stakes its legitimacy on protecting Islam's holy sites. The epicenter in the Mideast's most-affected country, Iran, appears to be in the holy Shiite city of Qom, where a shrine there sees the faithful reach out to kiss and touch it in reverence.
"Saudi Arabia renews its support for all international measures to limit the spread of this virus, and urges its citizens to exercise caution before traveling to countries experiencing coronavirus outbreaks," the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement announcing the decision.
"We ask God Almighty to spare all humanity from all harm." Disease outbreaks always have been a concern surrounding the hajj, required of all able-bodied Muslims once in their life, especially as pilgrims come from all over the world.
The earliest recorded outbreak came in 632 as pilgrims fought off malaria. A cholera outbreak in 1821, for instance, killed an estimated 20,000 pilgrims. Another cholera outbreak in 1865 killed 15,000 pilgrims and then spread worldwide.
More recently, Saudi Arabia faced a danger from a related coronavirus that caused Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS. The kingdom increased its public health measures in 2012 and 2013, though no outbreak occurred.
While millions attend the 10-day hajj, this year set for late July into early August, millions more come during the rest of the year to the holy sites in the kingdom.
"It is unprecedented, at least in recent times, but given the worldwide spread of the virus and the global nature of the umrah, it makes sense from a public health and safety point of view," said Kristian Ulrichsen, a research fellow at the James A Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. "Especially since the Iranian example illustrates how a religious crossroads can so quickly amplify the spread and reach of the virus." The virus that causes the illness named COVID-19 has infected more than 80,000 people globally, mainly in China. The hardest-hit nation in the Mideast is Iran, where Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said 19 people have died among 139 confirmed cases.
Experts are concerned Iran may be underreporting cases and deaths, given the illness's rapid spread from Iran across the Persian Gulf. For example, Iran still has not confirmed any cases in Mashhad, even though a number of cases reported in Kuwait are linked to the Iranian city.
In Bahrain, which confirmed 33 cases as of Thursday morning, authorities halted all flights to Iraq and Lebanon. It separately extended a 48-hour ban overflights from Dubai and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, through which infected travellers reached the island kingdom off the coast of Saudi Arabia.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said there were no immediate plans to quarantine cities but acknowledged it may take "one, two or three weeks” to get control of the virus in Iran.
As Iran's 80 million people find themselves increasingly isolated in the region by the outbreak, the country's sanctions-battered economy saw its currency slump to its lowest level against the US dollar in a year on Wednesday.
Riyadh, May 31: Over 90,000 mosques in Saudi Arabia reopened their doors to worshippers on Sunday morning after over a two-month closure as part of an ease in the curfew restrictions to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The worshipers were allowed to enter the mosques, except the mosques in Makkah, from Fajr prayers today morning (Shawwal 8) with a limit of 40 per cent capacity.
The reopening of mosques was be undertaken in accordance with the guidance of Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr Abdullatif Al Asheikh, and in line with advice issued by the Senior Council of Ulemas.
The ministry has embarked on a vigorous media campaign to urge all worshippers to abide by preventive measures for their own safety to curb the spread of Covid-19.Among the instructions are doing ablution at home, hand-washing and using sanitisers before going out to the mosque and after coming back home.
On Saturday, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has approved opening the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah in stages to the public.
The elderly and those with chronic diseases are advised to perform their prayers at home. Reading and reciting the Holy Quran online is advised, too, from one's own mobile phone or at least reading from a privately owned copy of the Holy Quran.
Bringing one's prayer mat to perform prayers in mosques is highly recommended as well as keeping a two-metre distance between one another prayer.
Accompanying children under the age of 15 to the mosques is prohibited. Putting on a face mask and avoiding shaking hands and other contact is also recommended.
Meanwhile, the ministry managed, during the closure of mosques, to undertaking a massive cleaning, sanitising and maintenance drive in all mosques Kingdom-wide, according to world-class standards and best known practices. This included sanitising over 10 million mosques, 43 million copies of several sizes and volumes of the Quran, more than 600,000 Holy Quran cupboards, in addition to repairing and maintaining about 176,000
#صور#صلاة_الفجر في مساجد منطقة
مكة المكرمة pic.twitter.com/fC4RfJInGC— إمارة منطقة مكة (@makkahregion) May 31, 2020
water closets, annexed to mosques.
Dubai, Jan 16: The UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment on Wednesday announced that it has banned the import of birds, some eggs and meat products from Hungary and Slovakia.
The ministry said the decision was taken following a notification from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) on the outbreak of a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu, H5N2, in the two countries.
Accordingly, the ministry has banned "the import of all species of domestic and wild live birds, ornamental birds, chicks, hatching eggs, meats and meat products and non-heat-treated wastes from Hungary and Slovakia".
It has also regulated the import of poultry meat and non-heat-treated products, requiring a health certificate for the export of meat and meat products from the two countries to release consignments into the UAE.
A health certificate will be needed for the import of eggs, the ministry added.
However, thermally-treated poultry products (meat and eggs) have been cleared for import from all parts of Hungary and Slovakia.
Kaltham Ali Kayaf, Acting Director, Animal Development & Health Department at the ministry, said: "These measures reiterate the ministry's keenness in achieving its strategic objectives including enhancing bio-security levels and eliminating pathogens before they enter the country. In doing so, the ministry prevents the bird flu virus and related risks and impacts on the country's poultry health and safety, in addition to protecting public health and well-being."
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