One Year Since the Detection of 1st Covid-19 Case In Saudi Arabia

 A security woman checks the temperature of a woman at Riyadh International Airport, after Saudi Arabia reopened domestic flights, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 31, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri
A security woman checks the temperature of a woman at Riyadh International Airport, after Saudi Arabia reopened domestic flights, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 31, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri
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One Year Since the Detection of 1st Covid-19 Case In Saudi Arabia

 A security woman checks the temperature of a woman at Riyadh International Airport, after Saudi Arabia reopened domestic flights, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 31, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri
A security woman checks the temperature of a woman at Riyadh International Airport, after Saudi Arabia reopened domestic flights, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 31, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri

Saudi Arabia recorded its first Covid-19 infection of a citizen returning from Iran on March 2, 2020, after which cases began to increase reaching around 5,000 infections per day.

Today, a year after the first case, the epidemic curve is flat between 300 and 400 daily infections. These figures come following a period during which Saudi Arabia recorded the lowest level of cases, around 100 per day, to later witness a rise at the beginning of 2021, forcing the authorities to re-impose precautionary measures and suspend some activities.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia announced that four new vaccines were under study and could be approved, in addition to the two vaccines that are now administered in the large vaccination campaigns within the Kingdom.

A year after the first infection, statistics show that the number of people who got the Covid-19 virus represents more than one percent of the population, with a total number of deaths exceeding 6,000.

The cumulative number of cases reached around 377,000 including 368,000 recoveries.

Saudi Arabia has accelerated the pace of the vaccination campaign by opening dozens of dedicated centers across the country and launching an in-car vaccination service in a number of cities.

The number of doses administered so far has reached nearly 700,000, which represents the vaccination of about one out of every 100 individuals in the country, at the very least.

The Ministry of Interior will begin easing the precautionary measures by the end of this week, in light of the flattening of the epidemic curve over the past two weeks.



Makkah Deputy Governor Carries Out Field Inspection of Grand Mosque Readiness for Ramadan 

Deputy Governor of the Makkah Region Prince Saud bin Mishaal bin Abdulaziz is seen during his inspection tour at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah. (SPA)
Deputy Governor of the Makkah Region Prince Saud bin Mishaal bin Abdulaziz is seen during his inspection tour at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah. (SPA)
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Makkah Deputy Governor Carries Out Field Inspection of Grand Mosque Readiness for Ramadan 

Deputy Governor of the Makkah Region Prince Saud bin Mishaal bin Abdulaziz is seen during his inspection tour at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah. (SPA)
Deputy Governor of the Makkah Region Prince Saud bin Mishaal bin Abdulaziz is seen during his inspection tour at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah. (SPA)

Deputy Governor of the Makkah Region Prince Saud bin Mishaal bin Abdulaziz inspected the readiness of the Grand Mosque and its facilities, conducting a field tour to review operational and service preparations for receiving worshippers and Umrah performers during the holy month of Ramadan, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday.

Prince Saud was briefed on the operational plans implemented by the relevant authorities, including crowd management mechanisms, service enhancements, and facility preparations aimed at ensuring smooth movement and enhancing comfort and safety levels for visitors to the Grand Mosque, particularly during peak times.

He reviewed developmental initiatives and smart services supporting the operational system, notably electric mobility carts for transporting the elderly, persons with disabilities, and those in need of assistance within the Grand Mosque.

The tour also included an overview of the efforts of guidance teams deployed across the corridors and courtyards of the Grand Mosque, providing multilingual assistance and direction.

Prince Saud reviewed the interactive map and digital mobility platform, which allows visitors to plan their routes in advance and identify service locations, entrances and exits, and less crowded pathways.

He was briefed on crowd management systems, including the visitor density sensor platform that measures human density in real time, and the Tawaf and Sa’i crowd status display service, which allows worshippers to select appropriate times to perform rituals with ease. Models of the modern multilingual guidance system were also reviewed.

Prince Saud also visited the Smart Engineering Command and Control Center, which serves as an advanced central platform linking operational systems and monitoring performance in real time, boosting operational efficiency and raising readiness levels during Ramadan.


Saudi Leadership Provides Two Donations Worth SAR150 Mln Through Jood Eskan Platform

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister. (SPA)
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister. (SPA)
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Saudi Leadership Provides Two Donations Worth SAR150 Mln Through Jood Eskan Platform

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister. (SPA)
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister. (SPA)

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, have provided two generous donations amounting to SAR150 million through the Jood Eskan platform.

The move aligns with the leadership's commitment to supporting all national efforts and initiatives to provide suitable housing for deserving families.

Minister of Municipalities and Housing and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Developmental Housing Foundation (Sakan) Majed Al-Hogail expressed his deep gratitude to the leadership for its unwavering support to all national efforts and initiatives aimed at providing suitable housing for eligible families across the Kingdom.

He noted the effective impact of previous generous donations in achieving the goals of housing development, and motivating individuals and institutions to donate through the Jood Eskan platform that is based on community giving that helps provide decent housing and boosts stability and quality of life for deserving families.


Saudi Crown Prince Receives Message on Bilateral Ties from President of Kazakhstan

Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister. (SPA file)
Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister. (SPA file)
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Saudi Crown Prince Receives Message on Bilateral Ties from President of Kazakhstan

Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister. (SPA file)
Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister. (SPA file)

Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, received on Tuesday a written message from President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on bilateral relations between their two countries.

The message was received by Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah during a meeting with his Kazakh counterpart Yermek Kosherbayev in Riyadh.