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MERS war stepped up in Saudi Arabia as 5 lives lost in 1 day

February 21, 2015

Riyadh, Feb 21: Deaths from the MERS virus have surged in the Kingdom, the Health Ministry figures showed on Friday.

The ministry recorded five MERS deaths on Thursday alone, bringing to 16 the number since Feb. 11.

MERS war

The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus also infected two more people, the ministry said.

The five victims were four Saudis from Alkhobar, Riyadh and Buraidah, while the fifth patient was an expatriate from Buraidah. The two people infected are from the capital and Alkhobar.

Since June 2012, MERS has claimed 382 lives out of 899 infections. There are currently 29 people being treated at various health facilities in the Kingdom.

Meanwhile, Keiji Fukuda, assistant director general for health security at the World Health Organization, said at a press conference here Thursday that there should be further discussions on developing a vaccine for camels, because they are passing the virus on to humans. They are also the likely animal source of MERS.

However, this issue was not the sole preserve of the WHO but should take place with companies in the private sector and global regulatory bodies in other sectors, said Fukuda in response to questions from Arab News.

“Our role is to point out what kind of information is needed to have the best possible public health response. This is our main focus for research on developing vaccines,” he said.

“If the virus is in the animal population it is very hard to think of eradication, because we are not going to kill all camels.”

He said that the idea would be to protect people by preventing the virus moving from camels to humans.

“We came here as one team and not separate teams, because we know that the issues are linked together and we should address them as being linked,” Fukuda said.

The WHO official commended the Kingdom’s efforts to fight the virus. “We are seeing a big improvement in the way the Kingdom is handling MERS-CoV, compared with the past, whether in terms of research, prevention measures, curing of cases, and decreasing infections in health care settings.”

Meanwhile, the ministry has organized a major awareness campaign at 2,000 schools. Students will be asked to write a 200-word essay on the virus, its symptoms, precautionary measures, and the medical treatment offered by the state. The ministry also plans to organize lectures, exhibitions and seminars on MERS at schools. Students would be told about the importance of personal hygiene.

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Agencies
July 28,2020

Dubai, Jul 28: Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) (ADCB.AD) is letting go hundreds of employees, sources said, the latest in a round of lay-offs by regional banks as pressure mounts to cut costs amid lower oil prices and the coronavirus crisis.

The UAE’s third-biggest lender is laying off 400 employees, two sources familiar with the matter said, after it had committed to not cutting staff because of the crisis.

In a statement, a spokesman said ADCB had pursued efficiency over the last decade by managing out its lowest underachievers after regular reviews, while ensuring talent was deployed in high-growth areas, such as digital banking.

“A certain number of redundancies are therefore expected every year in the normal course of business,” the bank spokesman added.

The sources said the cuts would involve ADCB’s consumer business and several in top management were among those being let go. One source said the bank was looking to close 20 branches.

In March, ADCB had declared, “No employee will be made redundant during 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

UAE banks have been hit by government measures to rein in the spread of the virus, forcing many businesses to shut temporarily.

Last week, Dubai’s largest bank, Emirates NBD, reported a slump of 58% in profits. In June, sources told Reuters the bank started a new round of hundreds of lay-offs.

In May, ADCB reported a fall of 84% in first-quarter net profit as it took impairments of $292 million on debt exposure to troubled hospital operator NMC Health and payments group Finablr.

It was a major lender, with an exposure of about $981 million, to NMC Health, which went into administration this year after months of turmoil following questions over financial reporting.

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Agencies
July 31,2020

Dubai, Jul 31: The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia tweeted early on Friday sending congratulations to everyone on Eid Al Adha.

"I congratulate everyone on the blessed Eid Al Adha. May Allah [grant us another Eid where we will be in] good, blessings, health, and wellness," King Salman said.

"We also ask [God] to accept the pilgrimage of those who completed Haj, and [to accept] Muslims' prayers, and to remove the coronavirus pandemic in our countries," he added.

King Salman left King Faisal hospital in Riyadh after recovering on Thursday, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Thursday.

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News Network
May 3,2020

Jeddah, May 3: Saudis and expats who spread rumors on social media could be jailed for up to five years and fined SR3 million ($800,000) under measures to counter false information regarding the coronavirus pandemic.

The move follows warnings by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health, Ministry of Interior, General Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques and other government entities that people should rely on trusted news sources and not third parties for information on the Kingdom’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Saudi Public Prosecutor warned that legal action will be taken against individuals who spread misinformation and rumors.

On Saturday, media spokesman for the Riyadh region police, Col. Shakir Al-Tuwaijri, highlighted a video circulating on social media in which a person spreads rumors about steps taken to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Other false claims include a planned change in curfew hours, warnings of food shortages, and a suggestion that health authorities are deliberately concealing the number of cases in the Kingdom.

In a recent case, a Riyadh resident claimed to know when worshippers will be allowed to return to the Grand Mosque.

All suspects have been arrested and face legal action, police said.

Dimah Al-Sharif, a Saudi legal counsel and member of the International Association of Lawyers, urged people to be responsible regarding content they access on social media.

“Receivers should not save such content or share it with others, and should delete it if possible since they, too, will be liable,” she said.

“Under Saudi laws to counter cyber-crime, we are not allowed to produce, prepare, send or save any unauthorized content or rumors.”

Individuals who breach regulations can be jailed for up to five years and face fines of SR3 million, as well as confiscation of the device(s) used in the crime, she said.

In addition, the judicial ruling will be published in newspapers at the offender’s expense.

The Kingdom’s Public Prosecution Office took to social media to warn users about the consequences of spreading rumors and misinformation.

@bip_ksa tweeted: “Receiving information from its official sources is a moral obligation and commitment, and legal responsibility. Do not fall victim to malicious rumors and news from anonymous sources that violate the procedures and effort, and cause terror regarding the Coronavirus, in order to avoid strict criminal accountability in this regard.”

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