In the name of Allah, and peace be upon His prophet; Oh Allah teach us from that which benefits us, and benefit us with that which You have taught us and increase us in knowledge!
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Peace, Allah's mercy, and His blessings be upon you
In the beginning, I would like to extend my thanks to his royal highness the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, May Allah protect him, for the confidence which he entrusted in me to take over the ministry of health portfolio.
Similarly, I would like welcome you all to this press conference held out of our commitment to constantly communicating with the mass media and the Saudi community members regarding the efforts made in terms of fighting the CoronaVirus spread. Further, I would like to offer my greetings to the members of the Advisory Medical Council which was formed recently to help face this challenge, related to the pubic health in the Kingdom.
The tasks of this Council, seen as a key pillar for boosting the Ministry of Health's (MOH) efforts, are simply embodied in preparing and presenting the reports and consultations to the MOH about the current health situation regarding the CoronaVirus, as well as following up on the situation of the injured cases.
When the members of the Council were chosen, we took into account their possessing previous experience in terms of dealing with similar challenges in relation to the public health.
Unquestionably, their consultations will contribute to enhancing the MOH's ability to understand and analyze the nature of the virus, and to prepare the necessary medical reports on it.
Given our ongoing efforts to look into facts and gather information, we are eagerly awaiting the ideas and recommendations released by the Council's members regarding limiting the spread of the virus in the Kingdom and worldwide.
Brothers and Sisters,
Out of the MOH's belief in the seriousness of the responsibility, recently a package of effective procedures and serious steps have been taken with the aim of fighting the CoronaVirus and holding back its spread in the Kingdom.
These procedures involved the following:
First: making a series of field visits to a number of hospitals throughout the Kingdom; this aims at inspecting how far they are ready to receive any CoronaVirus-related cases, Allah forbids.
Second: appointing the Advisory Medical Council, which is overseen by Dr. Tarek Ahmed Midani.
Third: designating three medical centers for facing the CoronaVirus; they are King Abdullah Medical Complex in Jeddah, to be the main center for fighting the virus; Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz in Riyadh, and Dammam Medical Complex in the Eastern Region.
The MOH are considering all the feasible options to live up to that challenge concerning the public health in the Kingdom. Given the ongoing efforts and the strict procedures adopted by the MOH as part of its immediate plan meant for maintaining the safety of the Saudi community in light of the current situation, we expect more decisions to be issued within the next days.
In a similar fashion, I would like to reiterate our boundless commitment to sticking to the principle of transparency, whether in terms of the mass media or the Saudi community members, and providing all what they need in terms of information on the current situation. As such, we believe that they will only be able to help us along fight the virus if they get the accurate information once it is at hand.
Even more, I would like to thank the Advisory Medical Council for the valuable recommendations and suggestions it presented to us recently. Meanwhile, the MOH will work on discussing these recommendations and will be guided by them in the next period; in order to bring out the best results which Allah willing, guarantee the safety of our dear community.
Once again, I offer my thanks to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, his royal highness the Crown Prince, and his royal highness the Heir-Apparent, May Allah protect them, for the limitless support to the MOH's efforts in terms of fighting the CoronaVirus, and thanks also go for those working in the Kingdom's hospitals, physicians and nurses alike, for their conscientious efforts to that effect.
I thank you all for your attendance which I see as a key support for our efforts in the face of this challenge, related to the public health.
May Allah guide us all towards the health and safety of the Saudi community, and we pray Allah, the Almighty, to bestow upon us the ability to work around the clock, in order to work together on facing this challenge.
Peace, Allah's mercy, and His blessings be upon you.