Saudi Arabia eases curfew in Ramadan

RIYADH, April 26, (KUNA): Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud has ordered relaxation of the nationwide 24-hour coronavirus-related curfew during the holy month of Ramadan, except for the holy city of Makkah.

According to the Royal Decree aired by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the curfew will be lifted in all regions from 9:00 am and 5:00 pm local time, except for the holy city of Makkah and other coronavirus hardest-hit isolated areas, during the period from Wednesday April 29 to Wednesday May 13.

The decree also allows the opening of some economic and commercial activities, which includes wholesale and retail shops in addition to malls.

It, however, keeps restrictions on beauty clinics, barber salons, gyms, cinemas, and restaurants.

It allows constructions companies and factories to resume work during the same period.

Meanwhile, nine more people died of the novel coronavirus in Saudi Arabia over the last 24 hours, taking the death toll in the Kingdom up to 136, announced the Ministry of Health.

A total of 1,197 tested positive for the respiratory disease in the Kingdom, raising the total count of confirmed infections to 16,299, the ministry’s Spokesman Mohammad Al-Abdulali said in a news briefing.

In addition, the number of recoveries from the highly contagious bug rose by 166 to 2,215, while 115 patients were still receiving medication in intensive care units, he added.

In another development, the Saudi G20 Presidency has welcomed launching of the “Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator” initiative, hailing it as a landmark, global and timely move to help deal with the deadly virus.

The ACT Accelerator initiative will be a global platform for action to enhance connections and leverage interdependencies for collective partnership, problem solving, mobilizing and guiding investments, and driving equitable access for new COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines, according to a press statement aired by the official Saudi Press agency (SPA).

Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed Aljadaan, who participated in the launching event of the ACT Accelerator initiative, pointed out that the international community is still facing extraordinary uncertainty about the depth and duration of this health crisis.

He emphasized the urgency to come together and cooperate to face this global challenge together.

“The Saudi G20 Presidency took the lead and worked with its partners and relevant organizations to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The G20 will continue reinforcing global cooperation on all fronts, and most importantly, on closing the immediate health financing gap,” Aljadaan said.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as the Chair of the G20 in 2020, pledged $500 million to support such global efforts and calls on all countries, non-governmental organizations, philanthropies, and the private sector to take part in the global efforts to close the required financing gap in order to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, which is estimated to be $8 billion according to the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB).

Head of states and other key political leaders as well as principals of multilateral, global health and development institutions participated in the launching event. Global community, health actors and leaders supporting this landmark collaboration will convene again in a pledging event on May 4th, 2020.

Bahrain

The Bahraini Health Ministry announced 70 new coronavirus infections and 47 recoveries.

In a statement, the ministry

affirmed that the total number of recoveries climbed to 1,160 after receiving the required medical treatment.

It pointed out that the number of cases currently receiving treatment has risen to 1,420, of which 1,418 are in a stable condition and two are in intensive unit care.

Oman

Oman affirmed 115 new coronavirus infections, bringing the total to 1,905.

Oman’s news agency quoted the health ministry as saying that 48 cases related to Omani citizens and 67 to non-Omani residents, adding that 329 patients recovered from the virus, while the deaths reached 10.

Jordan

Jordan recorded three new infections with the novel coronavirus, raising the total number of cases in the country to 444.

Jordanian Minister of Health Saad Jaber told a press conference that the number of already cured virus patients had risen to 332 as six recoveries were added.

He added that investigation teams had conducted a total 2,569 tests for people nationwide, revealing that some service bodies would resume work gradually as of next week.

Egypt

The Egyptian Ministry of Health reported 227 more infections with the novel coronavirus, bringing the total cases up to 4,319.

All the fresh patients are Egyptians, the ministry’s spokesman Khaled Mejahed said in a press statement, adding that 13 new patients had died of the virus, raising the death toll to 307.

Out of the overall figure, 1,114 people have been cured of the globally spreading disease, the spokesman added.

Algeria

The Algerian Ministry of Health confirmed that four people had died of the novel coronavirus, bringing the death toll to 419 so far.

The ministry, in a press statement, put the total number of infections with the respiratory disease at 3,256 after 129 people had tested positive for the virus.

Seventy-one more patients have been cured of the COVID-19, raising the number of recoveries in the country to a total 1,479, according to the statement.

Turkey

A total of 25,582 patients have now been cured of the novel coronavirus in Turkey, announced the country’s minister of health.

Some 106 people died of the highly contagious disease in the last 24 hours, taking the mortality rate in the country to 2,706, Fahrettin Koca was quoted by Anadolu news agency as saying in a statement.

The number of infections with the deadly virus has jumped by 2,861 to 107,773, while 1,782 patients are languishing in intensive care units, the minister added.

Palestine

The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed 11 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 495.

In a statement, Health Minister Mai Al-Khaleila said that the total number of recoveries jumped to 105 after recording two cases.

The minister noted that the number of cases among the medical staff increased to nine, and the rate of infections among workers is about 74 percent.

Morocco

Morocco reported 139 coronavirus infections, taking the total to 3,897, said the health ministry.

In a statement, the director of the Department of Epidemiology at the Ministry of Health, Mohamad Al-Youbi, said that one death was recorded due to the coronavirus, bringing the death toll to 159.

He added the total number of recoveries climbed to 537 after recording 51 new cases.