Parts of Jeddah sealed off, Dubai begins two-week city lockdown
Kuwait reports first death Iranians ignore ‘stay home’ warning Worst day so far in New York
Seven neighborhoods in Jeddah were sealed off on Saturday and Dubai residents confined to their homes for two weeks in the latest moves to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
No one is permitted to enter or leave Kilo 14 South, Kilo 14 North, Al-Mahjar, Ghulail, Al-Qurayyat, Kilo 13, and Petromin in Jeddah. People who live there may leave their homes between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. for healthcare reasons or to buy food.
The Kingdom reported 140 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, bringing the total number of people infected with the virus to 2,179, of whom 1,730 remain active. The death toll rose by four to 29, and 420 patients have made a full recovery.
Dubai had been under an overnight curfew along with the rest of the UAE since March 26. The new 24-hour disinfection program will run for two weeks. People may leave their homes only for essential purposes and just one family member at a time is permitted to go out. Legal action will be taken against offenders. Supermarkets, pharmacies and food and medicine delivery services will operate as normal.
Metro and tram service will be suspended for two weeks, with free bus transport and a 50 percent discount on taxi fares.
Kuwait, one of the Gulf states least affected by the pandemic, reported its first virus-related death, and the number of people infected rose by 62 to 479.
Iranians ignored advice to stay at home on Saturday, instead crowding streets and causing traffic jams across the city as the new year holiday ended. Iran is the worst-hit country in the region, with more than 55,000 virus cases and nearly 3,500 deaths, 158 in the past 24 hours.
State television broadcast footage of stores that had reopened despite a closure order on non-essential services and businesses. “We are still concerned about the virus, for example with the level of traffic in Tehran today and queues of cars stuck on freeways, because these people can take the virus to their homes or workplaces,” Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi said. Worldwide, nearly 1.2 million have been infected by the virus, and the death toll is approaching 63,000.
In the US, which has the world’s highest number of reported virus cases, 630 people died in New York, the worst 24 hours so far for the state hit hardest by the pandemic. The coronavirus has now killed 3,565 people there. Health experts calculate that New York may be about a week away from the worst point in the pandemic. “We’re not yet at the apex, we’re getting closer ... our reading of the projections is we’re somewhere in the seven-day range,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said.
“It’s only been 30 days since our first case. It feels like an entire lifetime.”
Italy, the worst-hit country in Europe, reported its first drop in the number of coronavirus patients in intensive care, from 4,068 on Friday to 3,994 on Saturday.
“This is a very important data point because the figure is decreasing for the first time,” health chief Angelo Borrelli said. “It is important because it allows our hospitals to breathe. This is the first time that this figure has fallen since we started managing the emergency.”
The daily rise in new infections in Italy has also slowed to 4 percent, but authorities are not declaring victory and instead are preparing Italians for at least another month under lockdown. The drop in critical care patientswas “a strong signal but it should absolutely not be read as a sign that we have overcome the critical stage,” government scientific council head Franco Locatelli said.
INSIDE
•University
bosses in key talks •Bakeries
ensure supplies •The
blame game begins •Iran
death toll hits 3,452 •‘Super-plasma’
therapy in Italy •Opportunity
for Israel •Europe
fails virus test •Ideological
infighting
•3M
row over facemasks •Football
stars under pressure