Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia orders lockdown of Shiite-majority region as cases rise
- Health authorities in the country ordered the restrictions on the Qatif region, home to some 500,000 people
- Except for essential services such as pharmacies and gas stations, work will stop in all government and private institutions in the area
Saudi authorities Sunday cordoned off the eastern region of Qatif, a centre of the kingdom’s Shiite minority, in a bid to contain the fast-spreading coronavirus as the total number of cases rose to 11.
The lockdown on Qatif, home to around 500,000 people, is the first action of its kind across the Gulf region that has confirmed more than 230 coronavirus cases – most of them people returning from religious pilgrimages to Shiite-majority Iran.
“Given that all 11 recorded positive cases of the new coronavirus are from Qatif … it has been decided … to temporarily suspend entry and exit from Qatif,” the interior ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.
Except for essential services such as pharmacies and gas stations, work will stop in all government and private institutions in Qatif, the statement added.
The lockdown, although the ministry said it was temporary, risks fuelling resentment in the flashpoint region whose residents have long accused the Sunni-dominated government of discrimination, a charge Riyadh denies.
Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province – which includes Qatif – has seen bouts of unrest since 2011 when protesters emboldened by the Arab spring uprisings took to the streets.