Saudi Arabia detects 17 new cases of coronavirus, total rises to 103

Saudi Arabia reported 17 new confirmed cases of the deadly coronavirus, raising the total number of recorded cases in the Kingdom to 103 on Saturday, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), citing the ministry of health.

The Ministry of Health said in its statement that the latest infected cases involved 17 individuals – 15 Saudi nationals who traveled to Iran, Italy, France and UK, in addition to an American national, and a French national.

Following is the new breakup of cases:

A Saudi national coming from Iran who has been placed in isolation in a health unit in al-Ahsa in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.

A Saudi national who has been quarantined in a hospital in Qatif in the Kingdom’s Eastern Province after coming in contact with a previously detected case.

Two other Saudi nationals isolated at a health unit in Qatif after recently arriving from Italy and Iran.

A fifth Saudi national who arrived recently from Iran is in isolation at a health facility in the city of Jeddah

The infected people in the capital Riyadh, including three Saudi nationals who got infected after coming in contact with previously detected coronavirus cases, in addition to an American national who also came in contact with a previous detected case, and three other Saudi nationals who arrived from the United Kingdom, four Saudi nationals arriving from France and a French national who arrived in the Kingdom from France via the United Arab Emirates.

The Ministry of Health also announced that every traveler who came to the Kingdom from March 13, 2020, onward must remain in home quarantine and will be granted medical leave equivalent to the duration of that period.

These measures come in continuation of the efforts made to limit and prevent the spread of the virus.

In a related development, the Kingdom confirmed that it was suspending all international flights for two weeks starting from March 15 in a drive against the spread of the global coronavirus.

“The Kingdom’s government has decided to suspend international flights for travelers – excluding exceptional cases – for a period of two weeks,” the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Saturday the ministry as saying.