US instructs forces in Saudi to forgo crowded places

On Friday the US State Department issued a letter to its forces in Saudi Arabia, instructing them to avoid crowded places, including shopping centres, cinemas and hotels, amid the increasing spread of the coronavirus in neighbouring countries, reported the Washington Post.

The letter called for taking the utmost caution against visiting public sites.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar are the only countries in the Gulf region that have not reported cases of the coronavirus. Iran, which is located on the other side of the Gulf, is the country most affected by this disease in the Middle East, with 34 deaths recorded so far.

Iran is the second largest country in which the virus has spread after China, and the largest source of the virus in the region. Although Iranian authorities deny the severity of the problem, the numbers of infections and deaths are significantly increasing daily.

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