The Saudi Ministry of Health confirmed on Monday March 2 the first case of a new coronavirus in Saudi Arabia, a person tested positive after his return from Iran.
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The infected man is currently "isolated in hospital" and had made a stopover in Bahrain, the ministry said in a statement relayed by the official SPA news agency.
Saudi Arabia was the only Gulf country to date to report no cases of new coronavirus on its soil. Preventive measures had however been taken in recent days: the country thus prohibited the entry into its holy cities, Mecca and Medina, to citizens of the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and suspended the granting of visas for Umrah, the little Muslim pilgrimage.
140 cases detected in the Golf
An unprecedented decision, this suspension has left thousands of pilgrims in uncertainty and raised concerns about the holding of the hajj, the great pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, which should begin this year between the end of July and the beginning August. The organization of the hajj and more generally the management of the holy places of Islam constitute for the kingdom a major logistical challenge as well as an important source of income.
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Ryad hopes to attract 2.7 million followers during the hajj of 2020, according to the website of the Ministry of Pilgrimage.
Nearly 140 cases of new coronavirus have been detected in the Gulf. Several Gulf countries have announced measures to cut ties with Iran, the main focus of the epidemic in the Middle East, to prevent the spread of the virus after the return of several infected pilgrims from Iran.
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With a total death toll of 66 out of more than 1,500 people infected, Iran is one of the countries most affected by the viral pneumonia epidemic after China. The World Health Organization (WHO) sent a first team of doctors and several tons of medical equipment to Iran on Monday.
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