Abstract
Since the beginning of the global novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, the response of governments has varied significantly across the world. This was one of the main reasons behind the difference in the disease fatality rates between countries. In this study, the public progressive measures taken in Saudi Arabia (SA) are described in detail. This is a descriptive study in which measures were retrieved via the government official news agency—Saudi Press Agency (SPA). The total number of Covid-19 cases and its fatality rate were obtained/calculated from the Saudi Ministry of Health (MoH) official Covid-19 port, as well as the WHO COVID-19 dashboard. SA took active measures in order to interrupt the spread of Covid-19 which were strict, rapid, and progressive in nature. Social distancing was at the heart of almost every measure taken by the government. The main themes of these interventions are as follows: travel bans, suspending religious activities, closure of non-essential shops, enforcing changes at workplaces, and imposing curfews. This was followed by the gradual return to working life with various precautions to prevent a spike in the number of cases. The imposed measures in SA succeeded in reducing the burden of Covid-19 and its fatality rate. Comparatively, the fatality rate in SA was significantly lower compared to developed countries with better healthcare infrastructure such as the United States and United Kingdom.
Highlights
Since the appearance of the novel corona virus disease (Covid-19) cases in Wuhan and its spread across China [1,2], governments around the world closely observed the situation.Covid-19 continued to spread rapidly across countries making it a ‘Global Pandemic’ as declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) [3]
Social distancing was at the heart of almost every measure taken by the Saudi government which aimed to reduce human-to-human transmission as much as possible
New regulations have been in place for a gradual safe return to the lifestyle prior to Covid-19
Summary
Since the appearance of the novel corona virus disease (Covid-19) cases in Wuhan and its spread across China [1,2], governments around the world closely observed the situation.Covid-19 continued to spread rapidly across countries making it a ‘Global Pandemic’ as declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) [3]. Since the appearance of the novel corona virus disease (Covid-19) cases in Wuhan and its spread across China [1,2], governments around the world closely observed the situation. No immediate actions or preventative measures were taken by most countries and their response to the pandemic varied significantly. Studies have attempted to assess the usefulness of such preventative measures to limit the spread of the Covid-19 infection. This article will present the public measures taken in SA and describe how these measures were responsive to the change in the disease infection rates. It will highlight how SA’s figures preceded some developed countries like United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK)
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