Saudi Arabia postpones sports events over coronavirus

By Hamdi Yildiz, Serdar Bitmez, Said Ibicioglu, and Halime Afra Aksoy

RIYADH / ABU DHABI / KUWAIT CITY / BAGHDAD (AA) – Saudi Arabia has postponed all sports events due to the coronavirus outbreak, the official SPA news agency has reported.

The decision was in line with protective measures made by a committee monitoring the virus, the Sports Ministry said in a statement Friday.

On Feb. 27, Saudi Arabia suspended the entry of pilgrims seeking to perform Umrah, or minor pilgrimages, over fears of the outbreak.

- UAE to take long spring break

Meanwhile, students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will take an extended spring break as part of the fight against COVID-19, as the virus is officially known.

The Education Ministry has decided to start the break on March 8 instead of March 29, according to the official Emirates News Agency (WAM).

In the last two weeks of the holiday, which ends on to April 12, students are set to learn through distance education.

The Health Ministry has also confirmed 45 cases of the virus nationwide.

- Kuwait suspends flights to 7 countries

The fellow Gult state of Kuwait has suspended air travel with seven countries for a week, including Egypt, Philippines, Syria, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and India.

Kuwaiti citizens coming from these countries will be allowed to enter the country, but will be put under quarantine, the country’s Civil Aviation Directorate said in a statement.

Kuwaiti authorities have confirmed 58 cases of the virus throughout the country.

First detected in Wuhan, China last December, the virus has spread to more than 80 countries.

The global death toll is nearing 3,500, with around 100,000 confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

As part of efforts to contain the outbreak, governments have closed borders and suspended land and air travel with the hardest-hit countries such as China, Iran, and Italy.

After declaring the outbreak an international health emergency, the WHO later upgraded the global risk level to “very high.”

More than 290 million students have been affected by school closures across 13 countries to curb the coronavirus outbreak, the UN said Thursday.