Saudi Arabia will isolate an industrial area of the eastern city of Dammam from Sunday, preventing entry and exit until further notice, to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, state news agency SPA said on Saturday. Freight shipments will be able to come and go from the area, Dammam Second Industrial City, SPA said, citing an interior ministry official. The decision allows vital factories to operate at one third capacity. A number of Gulf states have implemented lockdowns in parts of cities where large numbers of low-paid, mostly foreign, workers work and live in close proximity. Saudi Arabia also said it will take strict and painful measures to deal with the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the finance minister said on Saturday, adding that “all options for dealing with the crisis are open”. “We must reduce budget expenditures sharply”, Mohammed Al Jadaan said in an interview with Al Arabiya TV, adding that the impact of the new coronavirus on Saudi Arabia’s state finances will appear from the second quarter of the year.
