New Arab measures to besiege Corona ... suspending prayers in the Two Holy Places and health emergencies in Morocco, and a curfew in Mauritania

Several Arab countries announced new measures to curb the spread of the emerging coronavirus (Covid-19), while the number of people with it continues to rise.

Saudi
On Thursday, the Saudi authorities suspended the presence and prayer in the arenas of the Two Holy Mosques, especially on Friday, to limit the spread of the Corona virus.

The Kingdom announced last Tuesday that it would stop praying inside the mosques, but at that time it excluded the Holy Mosque and the Holy Mosque.

It also took decisions before suspending the performance of Umrah and the closure of schools, commercial centers and flights in an attempt to prevent the spread of the virus.

King Salman said in a televised speech yesterday that "the next stage will be more difficult at the global level to confront this rapid spread" of the virus.

He called for "enhancing individual and collective awareness, and committing to the directives, instructions and instructions issued by the concerned authorities in order to confront this pandemic."

Saudi Arabia has recorded 274 cases of the virus so far, according to figures issued by the Ministry of Health, out of more than a thousand cases in the six Gulf countries.

Morocco, West, sunset
The Moroccan Ministry of the Interior has declared a health emergency, and imposed restrictions on movement throughout the country, starting at six in the evening (Friday local time) to prevent the spread of the Corona virus.

She pointed out that violating the health emergency procedures would sign the owner under criminal penalties, reassuring citizens that "she took all measures to maintain adequate levels of supply of food, medicine and all vital materials."

Mobility will be limited to the persons “necessary to be present at the workplace, provided that they are handed a certificate by their superiors at work”, or in order to “acquire the necessary purchases for daily living in the vicinity of the residence of the person concerned, or receive the necessary treatments or the acquisition of medicines”, according to a statement issued by the Ministry .

As of Thursday, the Kingdom of Morocco monitored 63 confirmed cases of corona and two deaths due to it. Most of the patients were infected abroad, but the authorities began to discover local cases of infection in Moroccan cities.

Although the epidemic is still less prevalent in Morocco, Health Minister Khaled Ait Talib confirmed the day before yesterday, Wednesday, that "the coming days are very crucial, after recording the cases of infection locally."

In recent days, Morocco has strengthened measures to cope with the spread of the epidemic, as all international trips have been suspended, as well as the suspension of studies and the closure of mosques, cafes, restaurants and recreational facilities.

Algeria
In the context of the efforts to confront the epidemic, the Algerian government announced on Thursday that it would suspend public transport services and shut down cafes and restaurants, and told half of the workers in the state’s departments to stay in their homes, and the security forces ordered an increase in the prevention of public gatherings, and canceled domestic flights. These measures will be implemented from Sunday and continue until April 4.

The country recorded 90 cases of coronavirus with nine deaths, mostly in the Blida region, south of the capital.

Algeria has suspended all flights with the world, and on Thursday hundreds of people returned by sea from France and will be directly quarantined.

The Algerian authorities have also taken new measures to stop the spread of the epidemic, including closing cafes and restaurants in major cities, and stopping all public and private mass transportation within cities and between states, as well as train traffic.

On Thursday, the last ship carrying Algerians docked at the port of Algiers before all borders were closed, a measure that would leave thousands of citizens stranded abroad.

The "Tariq Bin Ziyad" ship departed from the French city of Marseille (southeast of the country) carrying 1700 passengers, and arrived Thursday afternoon in Algeria. A port official said the authorities would impose a stone on the passengers and crew.

Mauritania
For its part, the government in Mauritania announced Thursday evening to extend the closure of all schools and universities in the country until April 5, as part of measures to prevent the Corona virus.

Also on Thursday evening, starting at 8:00 pm local time - the same as Greenwich Mean Time - the curfew announced by the government took effect across the country, and all restaurants and cafes were closed until a new notice.

On Wednesday, it announced the registration of the second infection with the Corona Virus in the country, which is for a foreigner of Asian nationality, after it recorded the first infection days before it was for an Australian who arrived in the country from Europe.

Egypt
In Egypt, the authorities said Thursday that they would shut down all cafes, malls, sports clubs and night clubs to reinforce measures to contain the spread of the virus.

The Council of Ministers said that the decision does not apply to bakeries, grocery stores, pharmacies and staples stores.

Earlier, Egypt closed schools and universities and reduced the number of public sector workers who come to the workplace, in an effort to reduce clusters and slow the spread of the virus.

Also Thursday noon, flights were suspended until the end of this month, with the exception of departure flights that foreign tourists need to return to their countries.

The government stated that hotels and all educational facilities will be sterilized during the suspension of flights and the closure of schools.

Egypt has recorded 256 corona virus infections so far, including seven deaths. She said 42 people recovered after receiving treatment.