Tue 10 March 2020:
The Saudi government slammed Iran on Tuesday for facilitating the entry of Saudi nationals to its territories amid the outbreak of the new coronavirus.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz chaired the cabinet meeting that was held in Riyadh.
The cabinet condemned Iranian authorities for deliberately refraining from stamping passports.
Iran is held directly responsible for the outbreak of the new virus, its stressed.
Iran has emerged an epicenter for the outbreak in the Middle East with the majority of cases outside its borders tracing their infection back to it. Tehran has registered 291 deaths from the coronavirus and more than 8,000 cases.
The cabinet also reviewed the government agencies’ efforts in preventing the spread of the coronavirus, expressing their satisfaction with the positive results they have yielded.
Over 500,000 travelers have been checked for the virus, 2,032 are self-quarantined at home and 468 others are quarantined by authorities. The Kingdom has registered 20 cases of the virus.
The cabinet highlighted the World Health Organization’s praising of Saudi Arabia’s efforts in protecting public health. It lauded King Salman for meeting the WHO’s call for emergency aid to help combat the global outbreak.
Saudi Arabia has provided $10 million to the WHO for the implementation of urgent measures to minimize the spread of the disease and to support countries with vulnerable health infrastructures.
The cabinet stressed that the Kingdom will continue to follow the latest developments related to the outbreak and provide complete support to all organizations concerned with combating it.
Moreover, the ministers underscored the authorities’ measures in al-Qatif, which has been placed under temporary lockdown due to the coronavirus. The cabinet said the measures seek to prevent the spread of the virus and ensure that health authorities can provide the best possible care to the citizens and residents, hailing their cooperation.
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