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.



Saudi Arabia Reiterates Need to Reach Just Solution to Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chairs the cabinet meeting in Jeddah. (SPA)
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chairs the cabinet meeting in Jeddah. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Reiterates Need to Reach Just Solution to Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chairs the cabinet meeting in Jeddah. (SPA)
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chairs the cabinet meeting in Jeddah. (SPA)

The Saudi government reiterated on Tuesday its welcoming of the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) advisory opinion on Israel’s policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territories and the court’s confirmation of the illegality of the Israeli presence in the territories over the past 57 years.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the cabinet meeting that was held in Jeddah.

The government renewed the Kingdom’s position on the need for practical and credible steps to be taken to reach a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict according to the 2002 Arab peace initiative and international resolutions.

The cabinet was briefed on the telephone talks held between Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, with French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

The calls focused on joint relations and ways to boost and develop them.

The cabinet reviewed the latest regional and international developments and Saudi Arabia’s ongoing efforts to end the war on Gaza and support peace in Yemen to achieve regional security and stability.

It urged the international community, particularly active and influential parties, to assume its responsibilities and stop tensions in the region.

At the domestic level, the cabinet reviewed the latest economic developments and key indicators, including the stabilization of inflation in recent months due to the robustness of the Kingdom's economy and the effective measures and policies implemented to address the ramifications of rising global prices.