Reports indicate that Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have entered isolation due to the infection of 150 members of the royal family, including Saudi Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, with the Coronavirus.
Saudi Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the governor of the capital Riyadh, who is in his 70s, is currently in intensive care after contracting the virus, as per The New York Times, which referenced hospital communications, local doctors, and sources close to the family.
In an effort to prevent further spreading, King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) have opted for isolation.
At an exclusive hospital that caters to royalty, medical professionals are making preparations for an anticipated increase in patients by arranging an additional 500 beds.
“Directives are to be ready for VIPs from around the country,” the operators of the elite facility, the King Faisal Specialist Hospital, relayed in a “high alert” electronically distributed to senior doctors on Tuesday and later acquired by the Times.
The message stated, “We don’t know how many cases we will get but high alert,” and instructed for “all chronic patients to be moved out ASAP,” with only “top urgent cases” to be admitted, according to the newspaper.
According to the report, Saudi princes frequently travel to Europe, with some suspected of contracting the virus abroad and subsequently bringing it back to Saudi Arabia.
Thus far, the kingdom has reported 2,932 cases and 41 deaths due to the virus.