Saudi Arabia will take care of the medical bills of anyone in the country who is diagnosed with coronavirus, the Minister of Health said on Monday, while the Ministry of Agriculture ramped up measures to boost supplies of wheat and livestock amid global concerns of food shortages.
Saudi King Salman has ordered free care of all coronavirus patients in all of Saudi Arabia's government and private health facilities. At a press conference in Riyadh on Monday, the Kingdom's health minister, Dr. Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah, declared the king's order and said it covered people and residents -including those who breach the laws of residence.
The number of cases of coronavirus in Saudi Arabia continues to increase, outstripping the rest of the Gulf countries, as King Salman announced patients will not be charged for treatment.
Ministry spokesman Mohammed Al Abdulaali said Saudi Arabia has reported 154 confirmed infections in the past 24 hours, taking the country's total to 1.453. Abdulaali reported that there were 22 cases in intensive care. No deaths have occurred after four were confirmed Sunday.
"We are all on the same boat," Al Rabiah told a media briefing, adding that the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was "night and day" overseeing containment efforts.
King Salman chaired an unprecedented virtual G20 leadership summit last week to promote a global response to the coronavirus pandemic. On Monday G20 trade ministers conducted an emergency video conference to discuss supply chain cooperation.
Awwad bin Saleh Al-Awwad, chairman of the Saudi Human Rights Committee, thanked King Salman for the Order. "It proves the Kingdom's human and moral approach to fighting the pandemic," Al-Awwad said.
Over the past week, the Kingdom has tightened a curfew across the region, bringing it forward on Sunday from 6pm until 3pm. They sealed off key cities like Riyadh, Makkah, Madinah and Jeddah.
Authorities advise people not to stockpile food, saying distribution flows are free. More than five million medical masks held illegally were confiscated at two locations. Bahraini authorities warned food suppliers on Monday against price gouging, saying some merchants kept back stock.
The government has also said that the kingdom has extended the list of countries from which it can import livestock. Public health officials say previous experience with battling the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) has helped prepare Saudi Arabia for the latest health crisis.
The United Arab Emirates reported two new fatalities and 41 new incidents. There are a total of five deaths in the region, and 611 confirmed cases. In Kuwait, authoriies said it had 11 new cases, taking its total to 266.
