Since Saudi Arabia suspended operations of public facilities such as shopping malls and cafes to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the tables on the cafe street in downtown Riyadh were empty on the 15th of last month (local time). Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] Reports have emerged that about 150 members of the Al Saud royal family in Saudi Arabia have contracted the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
According to a report by The New York Times (NYT) on the 8th (local time), Prince Faisal bin Bandar (77), governor of Riyadh Province where the capital Riyadh is located, has been infected with COVID-19 and is receiving treatment in the intensive care unit.
The newspaper quoted sources close to the royal family, saying "Thousands of Al Saud princes frequently travel to Europe. It seems that some of them returned infected."
On the night of the 7th, NYT reported that the management of King Faisal Specialist Hospital, the royal family's primary hospital, sent a message to doctors stating, "We must prepare for the treatment of VIPs (royalty) nationwide," and "We do not know how many are infected, but we must be fully prepared."
It is also known that orders were given to prepare 500 hospital beds to treat infected members of the royal family and their close associates.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia closed the Islamic holiest sites Mecca and Medina and suspended foreign arrivals and international flights at the end of February to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the Middle East region.
However, as of the previous day, Saudi Arabia reported 2,932 confirmed COVID-19 cases (41 deaths), an increase of 1.7 times in one week.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
