The kingdom of Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it would start screening passengers arriving from China and take other preventive measures following the outbreak in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
A Saudi health ministry affiliate stated on Thursday “The ministry has taken all the precautionary measures to deal with this global issue and is in close coordination with all concerned entities”.
The virus, which can pass from person to person, has been reported in Thailand, Japan and South Korea, raising concerns about its spread through international air travel.
More than 630 people have been infected, mostly in China, but cases have been detected as far away as the United States.
Elsewhere in the Gulf region, Qatar and Bahrain called on their citizens in China to exercise caution against the virus, the state news agency reported on Thursday.
Kuwait’s ministry of health said that thermal cameras were added to border crossings so passengers arriving from countries affected with coronavirus could be thermally screened, according to the state news agency.
