The deadly coronavirus has now entered the Saudi royal family. According to a report by The New York TImes, the governor of Saudi capital Riyadh is in intensive care with the coronavirus.
As many as 150 royal family members are believed to have been infected by the deadly virus. This includes members of its lesser branches, the report said citing sources.
Doctors at the elite hospital that treats Al-Saud clan members are preparing as many as 500 beds for an expected influx of other royals and those closest to them, according to an internal “high alert” sent out by hospital officials. “Directives are to be ready for VIPs from around the country,” the operators of the elite facility, the King Faisal Specialist Hospital, wrote in the alert, sent electronically on Tuesday night to senior doctors, The Times reports.
Sounding high alert, the message instructed doctors to “move out all chronic patients” and admit only “top urgent cases.” It said any sick staff members would now be treated at a less elite hospital to make room for the royals.
The infection and treatment of the governor of Riyadh, Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, was confirmed by two doctors with ties to the elite hospital and two others close to the royal family. A former military officer believed to be in his late 70s, he is a nephew of King Salman and a grandson of the founder of the modern kingdom. As governor of Riyadh, the capital, Prince Faisal holds a post previously occupied by a favorite son of the former King Abdullah and before that by King Salman himself.
Meanwhile, King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) have retreated into isolation to avoid the outbreak.
The news of the royal infection scare, perhaps, sheds light on Saudi invoking stricter measures to control the pandemic. Saudi Arabia suspended the year-round “umrah” pilgrimage last month over fears of the coronavirus pandemic spreading to Islam’s holiest cities. Authorities last week urged Muslims to temporarily defer preparations for the annual pilgrimage. Authorities had already sealed off the holy cities of Mecca and Medina along with Riyadh and Jeddah, barring people from entering and exiting as well as prohibiting movement between all provinces. The authorities have now cut off all air and land travel into or out of its borders and between internal provinces.
The country has so far reported 3,287 confirmed infections across the kingdom, of which 44 have succumbed to the virus.