Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia imposes new restrictions in Jeddah to curb spread of disease

Authorities impose 15 day curfew and suspend work in public and private sectors

People walk outside the King Abdulaziz Airport upon their arrival to the Red Sea port city of Jeddah. AFP

Saudi Arabia imposed new coronavirus restrictions in the city of Jeddah on Friday as the country recorded 2,500 new infected cases, state news agency Spa reported.

The kingdom has a total of 95,748 infected cases and 642 fatalities.

Authorities reimposed a curfew in the Red Sea city from 3pm to 6am for two weeks starting on Saturday to contain the spread of the disease.

Public and private sector employees have been banned from attending workplaces, and public gatherings of more than five people have been banned.

Prayers in the city's mosques had also been suspended and dining in all restaurants and cafes prohibited.

Jeddah recorded 459 new cases but the capital Riyadh had the highest number of infections, confirming 719 Covid-19 cases during the last 24 hours, according to the health ministry.

Officials also said they are closely monitoring cases in Riyadh, where infections have been increasing.

Domestic travel by air or train will remain open.

Other countries in the Gulf also recorded a high number of infected cases.

Kuwait said that 723 new infections were found during the last 24 hours, taking the total number of fatalities to 30,644.

Eight more deaths were recorded, rising the number of fatalities to 244, according to the health ministry.

The ministry said 1,054 patients recovered during the last 24 hours, raising the total number of recoveries in the country to 18,277.

Oman recorded a high number of infections with 770 new cases, raising the total number of cases to 15,086.

The newly diagnosed cases include 343 Omanis and 427 foreign residents, the health ministry said.

Five new deaths were reported, taking the country’s total fatalities to 72.

Bahrain said that 437 individuals had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, 182 of whom were expatriate workers, and 247 were found to have been exposed to active cases.

The country has 13,733 confirmed cases of the virus.

During the last 24 hours, 743 individuals recovered from infection, bringing the total number of recoveries to 8,471.

Bahrain postponed the resumption of Friday prayers this week following a spike in coronavirus cases.

The government said it will monitor the spread of the virus before announcing a new date to allow congregational prayers to resume in mosques and religious areas.

Authorities chose not to enforce an economic lockdown during the holiday period, but imposed restrictions on public gatherings and closed mosques in March.

Qatar announced 1,754 new cases of the disease, bringing the total number of infections to 65,495.