Saudi Arlines - Reuters
CAIRO - 15 March 2020: Saudi airlines will operate exceptional flights from Egypt to Jeddah and Riyadh for Saudi students who are wishing to go back home.
This decision came after Egypt suspended universities and schools nationwide as part of coronavirus (Covid 2019) containment measures.
"The flights are scheduled to operate from Sunday, March 15, 2020, to Tuesday, March 17," said the Saudi cultural attaché in Cairo in a statement on Saturday.
The exceptional flights were announced after the Saudi authorities temporarily suspended the international flights for two weeks as of Sunday, March 14, Al-Arabiya channel reported on Sunday.
Coronavirus disease has forced many countries to suspend their flights around the globe after the infected cases reached 157,483 people and 5,845 deaths were reported to date. On March 10, 2020, the virus was announced a global pandemic by the World Health Organization.
“WHO is deeply concerned by the alarming levels of the coronavirus spread, severity & inaction, & expects to see the number of cases, deaths & affected countries climb even higher. Therefore, we made the assessment that COVID19 can be characterized as a pandemic,” said WHO Director-General TedrosAdhanomGhebreyesusin a press conference.
To prevent the spread of coronavirus disease, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi decreed the suspension of schools and universities for two weeks as of Sunday, March 15.
Egyptian Minister of Health HalaZayed announced Saturday a new case of coronavirus, to have the tally of patients in Egypt rising to 110. She added that four coronavirus cases left quarantine, after they tested negative for the disease, bringing the total number of cured people to 32.
In Saudi Arabia, the number of infected people rose to 103 after new 17 cases were confirmed by the Saudi Ministry of Health on Saturday. The total number of Egyptian nationals who were announced positive for the coronavirus in the Saudi kingdom reached 12 people.
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