The committee concerned with following up on the status of the novel coronavirus held its 20th meeting, today (Tuesday), under the chairmanship of the Health Minister Dr. Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah and the attendance of the committee's members representing a number of relevant government sectors. The committee reviewed all reports and latest developments, the epidemiological situation of the virus worldwide and the cases recorded in the Kingdom, as well as enhancing the precautionary measures implemented at points of entry.
MOH's spokesperson, Dr. Muhammad al-Abdulaali said that there are 114,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in 115 countries around the world, with 64,000 recovered, or 56% and 4,000 deaths or 3.4% of the total cases.
So far, he added, the Kingdom has recorded 20 confirmed cases (10 males and 10 females) with an average age of 47 years, 7 of them came from Iran, 3 from Iraq, 3 cases visited Iran and Iraq, 2 cases from Egypt and one from the Philippines. They are in a critical condition and currently connected to ventilators, in addition to 4 cases who were in close contact with positive cases.
He indicated that the epidemiological investigation identified 800 persons were in close contact with confirmed cases and more than 500,000 passengers have been examined at the Kingdom's ports, pointing out that, since the announcement of the first positive case in the Kingdom, the 937 Service Center received more than 60,000 calls about COVID-19.
He warned against spreading rumors and video clips on social media sites, as the community is the line of protection against such rumors. He underlined the importance of following the health-awareness guidelines about the novel coronavirus and called on everybody to contact the 937 Service Center for any inquiries about COVID-19.