• Employees of a Lebanese public health company pose with their protective gear on in Beirut as Lebanon calls in the army and security forces to ensure people stay at home to slow the spread of coronavirus. AFP
    Employees of a Lebanese public health company pose with their protective gear on in Beirut as Lebanon calls in the army and security forces to ensure people stay at home to slow the spread of coronavirus. AFP
  • Artist Aziz al-Asmar paints a mural wishing for the well-being of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is in quarantine after being treated by a doctor who tested positive for coronavirus, inside a damaged building in the town of Binnish in Syria's northwestern Idlib province. AFP
    Artist Aziz al-Asmar paints a mural wishing for the well-being of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is in quarantine after being treated by a doctor who tested positive for coronavirus, inside a damaged building in the town of Binnish in Syria's northwestern Idlib province. AFP
  • People wearing face masks walk in Damascus, Syria. EPA
    People wearing face masks walk in Damascus, Syria. EPA
  • A policeman mans a checkpoint near the Tigris River in Baghdad, Iraq. AP Photo
    A policeman mans a checkpoint near the Tigris River in Baghdad, Iraq. AP Photo
  • Palestinian children look on as their neighborhood is sprayed with disinfectant as a precaution against the spread of coronavirus, in the streets of the Al Nusairat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. EPA
    Palestinian children look on as their neighborhood is sprayed with disinfectant as a precaution against the spread of coronavirus, in the streets of the Al Nusairat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. EPA
  • The closed entrance to a disco is seen in Kadikoy in Istanbul, Turkey. Getty Images
    The closed entrance to a disco is seen in Kadikoy in Istanbul, Turkey. Getty Images
  • Lebanese intelligence officers deploy on a street to urge people to stay home unless they have an emergency, in central Beirut's commercial Hamra Street, Lebanon. AP Photo
    Lebanese intelligence officers deploy on a street to urge people to stay home unless they have an emergency, in central Beirut's commercial Hamra Street, Lebanon. AP Photo
  • An employee checks the body temperature of customers at the entrance of a fish shop in the Lebanese capital Beirut. AFP
    An employee checks the body temperature of customers at the entrance of a fish shop in the Lebanese capital Beirut. AFP
  • Palestinian teacher Jihad Abu Sharar presents an online class from her home in the village of Dura near Hebron in the occupied West Bank, after schools were closed as a preventive measure. AFP
    Palestinian teacher Jihad Abu Sharar presents an online class from her home in the village of Dura near Hebron in the occupied West Bank, after schools were closed as a preventive measure. AFP
  • A Palestinian sprays disinfectant as a precaution against the spread of coronavirus, in the streets of the Al Nusairat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. EPA
    A Palestinian sprays disinfectant as a precaution against the spread of coronavirus, in the streets of the Al Nusairat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. EPA
  • A general view of the almost deserted closed main public bus station in Damascus, Syria. EPA
    A general view of the almost deserted closed main public bus station in Damascus, Syria. EPA
  • A dog wears a face mask while being walked by its owner near the landmark martyrs monument in Algiers, Algeria. AP Photo
    A dog wears a face mask while being walked by its owner near the landmark martyrs monument in Algiers, Algeria. AP Photo
  • A view of deserted streets after curfew was imposed amid the outbreak of coronavirus, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. EPA
    A view of deserted streets after curfew was imposed amid the outbreak of coronavirus, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. EPA

Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia records second death as it extends curfew to curb epidemic

Citizens are prohibited from leaving and entering Riyadh, Makkah and Madinah

Mina Aldroubi
Khaled Yacoub Oweis
Abu Dhabi

March 25, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday a second coronavirus patient has died as cases in the kingdom reached 900.
The fatality was a "resident" of the holy city of Mecca, Health Ministry Spokesman Mohammed Al Abdulaali said in a daily briefing.
Mr Abdulaali said 115 new coronavirus cases were recorded in the kingdom last 24 hours and are under treatment.

The new cases are included in the total of 900.

The kingdom extended a curfew and imposed further limits on domestic travel on Wednesday in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus.
The start of the curfew was moved forward to 3pm from 7pm beginning Thursday in Riyadh and the holy cities of Makkah and Medina, state news agency SPA said in a statement.

Residents will no longer be allowed to move between different regions inside the kingdom, apart from groups previously excluded from the curfew, the statement said.
King Salman took this decision "based on the calls made by the relevant authorities to introduce more precautionary measures to limit the spread of corona virus," SPA reported.
The measures were announced after the kingdom confirmed its first death on Tuesday, a 51-year-old Afghan resident.
Saudi Arabia has the highest number of infected individuals in the Gulf.

The country has imposed tough restrictions, including an overnight curfew for the next three weeks, to try to slow the spread of the disease.
Other measures include shutting public venues, including places of worship - apart from the grand mosques of Makkah and Medina, where restrictions are in place.
All public transport has also been suspended.

EgyptGCCRiyadhCoronavirus