The New York Times: 150 Saudi princes are infected with the Coronavirus, most notably Prince Faisal bin Bandar, the king, and his crown prince isolate themselves on an island

The New York Times said that coronavirus struck in the heart of the Saudi royal family, and infected more than 150 Saudi princes, most notably Faisal bin Bandar, the governor of Riyadh who entered intensive care, according to the newspaper’s report .

The newspaper said that the princely hospitals were prepared to receive a large number of princes expected to be infected with the virus.

The report stated that orders were issued to all hospitals in the Kingdom to prepare to receive cases of coronavirus from the royal family, and to quickly evacuate hospitals from Saudis who suffer from chronic diseases.

However, the newspaper said, at the same time, that the majority of injuries are not in the first ranks of the royal family so far.

She explained that King Faisal Specialist Hospital, which is specialized in providing medical services for the royal family, prepared up to 500 beds for an expected outflow from the royal family, and entered a state of alert according to an internal memorandum viewed by the New York Times.

The newspaper noted that the memo said that there are directives to prepare to receive “great personalities”.

It revealed that King “Salman bin Abdulaziz” was isolated in one of the palaces near the coastal city of Jeddah, while his crown prince and son, Prince Muhammad, and a number of ministers were in another palace.

The report adds that the administration of King Faisal Specialist Hospital, in Riyadh, said in the message, which I sent to the senior doctors, on Tuesday evening, “We must be prepared for the arrival of important personalities from different parts of the kingdom… We do not know the number of cases that may reach us but we must raise a case be prepared, and all chronic cases must be transferred as soon as possible and stop receiving new cases, except for very critical cases”.

The newspaper report added that “King Salman, who is 84 years old, isolated himself in a palace on one of the islands on the Red Sea coast, near the city of Jeddah, while his crown prince, Prince Muhammad bin Salman, aged 34, withdrew with A number of its properties and consultants are located to a remote location on the same coast, but near the declared site of the Neum Tourist Project that he pledged to build.

The report stated that King Salman delivered a speech on combating the epidemic in the country, last month, by videoconference “from his isolated residence”.

The newspaper pointed out that the injury of this number of members of the Saudi royal family, the case of the British Prime Minister and the death of a number of senior Iranian officials as a result of the coronavirus pandemic “proves that the virus does not differentiate between the public and officials, as it infects the richest princes and the poorest migrant workers without discrimination, at least until this moment, that they are infected with”.

The report considered that this number of cases among members of the Al Saud family explains the reason behind the rapid and widespread response in the Kingdom to the epidemic.

The report cited this as Saudi Arabia rushed to close the country and prevent worshipers and pilgrims from reaching Mecca and Medina, the holiest site for Muslims in the world, before the kingdom announced the registration of the first injury on its soil on the second of last March.

The newspaper pointed out that the Kingdom has now canceled all flights, cut off the way to enter or leave the country, and announced a total closure of its largest cities throughout the day.