Saudi Arabia: Most of Mecca’s Population May Be Infected with Coronavirus

By Staff, Middle East Eye

Recent testing in Saudi Arabia indicated that the actual spread of coronavirus in the country may be significantly higher than the official estimates, the Middle East Eye reported.

According to three senior Saudi medical sources citing recent random testing conducted in the holy city, nearly 70 percent of Mecca's more than two million residents are estimated to be carriers of the virus.

Saudi Arabia has so far recorded 21,402 cases and 157 deaths from Covid-19. These are the highest numbers in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council [GCC].

“The actual spread of the disease could be three to four times higher than the declared one,” one source told MEE on condition of anonymity.

“Saudi health authorities expect the peak to be sometime in June.”

According to one source, Covid-19 patients had initially been admitted to public hospitals, but “the instructions now are to treat them in private hospitals, because public hospitals have become overwhelmed”.

On 2 April, Saudi Arabia imposed a 24-hour curfew on the holy cities of Mecca and Medina as part of measures to contain the disease. 

The curfew was eased on 26 April, following the start of the holy month of Ramadan, but restrictions on Mecca remained in force.

A countrywide lockdown has been in place in the kingdom since 25 March, including a ban on entry and exit from Mecca, Medina and Riyadh, as well as restriction of movement between its 13 provinces.

With Mecca under the strictest lockdown, it is widely believed the holy city is the epicentre of the outbreak in the kingdom. Hajj, the annual pilgrimage that sees millions of Muslims travel to Mecca, is due to begin in July but is widely expected to be cancelled or curtailed.

According to one medical source, other governorates might return to full lockdown if the number of cases there increases by 20 percent.

The source said that a new hospital with 500 beds had been established in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, along with two other facilities, to treat the increasing number of cases.