Capitals – agencies: Elsharq El-Awsat
Saudi Arabia called for the convening of a “virtual” extraordinary summit next week to combat the Corona virus, after the epidemic dominated the world and paralyzed various sectors until it threats the safety and economy of it, elsharq el-awsat newspaper said.
The Kingdom announced that it {is making continuous contacts with the countries of the group to hold an extraordinary virtual summit meeting next week with the aim of discussing ways to unify efforts to confront the spread of the Corona epidemic}, stressing that {this global health crisis, and its humanitarian, economic and social implications, requires a global response ».
And she indicated that the G20 will work with international organizations in all necessary ways to mitigate the effects of this epidemic, while the leaders of the group that includes the largest economies in the world will work on setting agreed policies to mitigate its effects on all peoples and the global economy.
The summit will build on the efforts of the finance ministers, the group’s central bank governors and senior health, trade and foreign officials, {to define the requirements and necessary response measures, and the Kingdom’s presidency will continue to support and coordinate international efforts to counter the effects of the epidemic at the humanitarian and economic levels}.
In an indication of the extent of the damage the repercussions of the epidemic caused to the economy, US Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin said that “what we face (currently) is worse than September 11,” referring to the attacks of “Al Qaeda” in 2001. He pointed out that the American authorities are discussing providing Economic incentives amount to one trillion dollars.
The king order $10m for “WHO”
Saudi Arabia’s firm approach to combating the spread of “COVID-19” is admirable with an enforcement of several precautionary measures including the suspension of international flights, providing quality accommodation to travelers from virus hubs, suspending all Umrah pilgrims and congregational prayers in mosques, closing schools and enforcing virtual learning, closing malls, cinemas and restaurants, imposing fines for businesses exploiting surge in demand for health & hygiene products, as well as donating $10m in financial support to World Health Organization “WHO” to minimize the spread of coronavirus and to support countries with vulnerable health infrastructures.
On other side, Yesterday, several Arab countries tightened their precautionary measures to stop the spread of the virus, some of which announced the suspension of congregational prayers, the closure of mosques, schools, cafes and restaurants, and some imposed emergency.
In this regard, the Council of Senior Religious Scholars in Saudi Arabia announced the suspension of Friday and Friday prayers for all the obligatory prayers in mosques and the lifting of the call to prayer.
Meanwhile, global market indices fluctuated yesterday, with the volatility index, also known as the “Fear Index”, reaching its highest historical levels ever. Major US stock indices opened higher yesterday, a day after their biggest drop since the 1987 crash.
As for the countries of the European Union, they unanimously decided to ban the entry of people from countries outside the bloc for 30 days in order to reduce the spread of the epidemic, and thus isolate its population of nearly half a billion people from the rest of the world.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced the decision in a press conference yesterday after a video meeting with the leaders of European countries, and confirmed that the member states “all agreed to impose a (entry) ban with some minor exceptions,” explaining that this ban would take 30 days.
As for Iran, which begins today, the fourth week after the outbreak of the new Corona virus, the death toll has touched the threshold of a thousand, at a time when the “World Health Organization” has raised doubts about the official Iranian statistics.