Coronavirus may have infected Up to 150 members of the Saudi royal family: Report

New York Times reported that Coronavirus may have infected Up to 150 members of the Saudi royal family. Saudi Arabia has more than 2,900 confirmed cases of the virus, including 41 deaths.

As the severity of the outbreak across the kingdom escalates, as many as 500 beds are reportedly prepared for royals in some of the country s elite hospitals. King Salman s nephew, Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, is in intensive care, according to NewYork Times.

This week, the kingdom began imposing a 24-hour curfew in the capital, Riyadh, and several other cities, including Jeddah and Mekkah. It has already barred travel to and from Riyadh, Mekkah and Medina, suspended prayers at mosques and closed Islam’s holiest sites to pilgrims to limit infections.

King Salman on Tuesday also ordered the temporary release of prisoners serving sentences related to unpaid private debts and ordered the suspension of all rulings related to such cases. The government, however, did not say how many detainees would be affected.

The alert added any infected staff members will now be treated at a less elite hospital to save room for royals. There are thousands of Saudi princes. Many travel regularly to Europe and some are believed to have contracted the virus abroad and brought it back to Saudi Arabia, the report said.