Saudi, UAE announce measures to curb virus effect

RIYADH - Saudi Arabia and the UAE have declared two economic emergency measures to confront the consequences of the emerging coronavirus on their lands, after they took proactive measures to prevent the spread of the disease that struck the countries of the world and forced a large number of them to isolate themselves to protect the lives of millions of people.

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (the Central Bank) said on Saturday that it had allocated a program worth 50 billion riyals (13.3 billion dollars) aimed at supporting the private sector.

The Foundation stated in a statement that the program aimed to enable the financial sector to support growth in the private sector, support state efforts in combatting the  COVID-19 and mitigate its expected financial and economic effects.

The program consists of three basic elements aimed at mitigating the effects of precautionary measures to combat coronavirus on the SME sector, reducing the burden of fluctuating cash flows, and supporting working capital for this sector.

According to the plan, money will be deposited into banks in exchange for postponing due instalments for the private sector, providing soft financing to companies in need of liquidity, and depositing other funds to exempt small enterprises from financing guarantees.

On Saturday, Riyadh decided to stop all public social events, including funerals and wedding parties, in addition to closing recreational places in commercial complexes, and obliging the owners of these facilities to adhere new rules starting from Sunday.

In the same vein, the UAE Central Bank said that it had put in place a 100 billion dirham ($ 27 billion) economic support plan.

The UAE plan aims to provide support to banks and companies in the local market, as 50 billion dirhams ($ 13.5 billion) will be pumped from the central bank to grant loans at zero interest, and another 50 billion dirhams to banks.

The central bank stated that the banks will use the funds to provide financing to companies and establishments, in order to face the liquidity shortage experienced by the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic.

The UAE was also among the first countries that rushed to take precautionary and proactive measures since the emergence of the coronavirus to face the repercussions of its spread at various levels, including health and the economy.

On Sunday, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash called for solidarity and synergy in the UAE and throughout the world.

Gargash wrote on Twitter: "The corona virus crisis facing the world is a severe test that has not been witnessed by the international system for the past century. Cooperation, solidarity and joint action are our approach at the international and national levels.”

It is noteworthy that the Saudi Ministry of Health announced on Saturday that it’s second infected patient had now recovered.

The ministry said in a statement, "It was a laboratory examination that demonstrated that the citizen is free of the virus, and that he is currently in good health, and left the Qatif Central Hospital (east) of the Kingdom."

For his part, Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance Abdullatif Al-Sheikh affirmed that in the event that the public interest is in jeopardy, mosques will be closed temporarily and prayers stopped as a precaution.

According to official data, the total number of infections in the in Saudi Arabia reached 103 cases without registering deaths, while the number of infections in the UAE reached 85 without any fatalities either.

On Saturday, the UAE Ministry of Health agency announced that "3 new cases of coronavirus patients have fully recovered after receiving the necessary health care.”

For more precaution and caution, the Department of Economic Development in Dubai requested Sunday all cinemas, amusement parks, recreational and electronic games halls, bodybuilding halls, fitness clubs and spring camps licensed in the emirate to stop providing their services immediately starting from Sunday until the end of March.