The Saudi Minister of Finance and Acting Minister of Economy and Planning, Mohammad Al-Jadaan, announced on Monday (May 11, 2020) that the Kingdom has taken a number of measures to mitigate the negative effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, including suspending the cost of living allowance and raising the value added tax.

Saudi Arabia will take strict and painful measures to deal with the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the finance minister said on Saturday, adding that "all options for dealing with the crisis are open".

Commenting on the reports of the death of Dr. Abdullah Al-Hamid, a prisoner of conscience who died while in custody in Saudi Arabia, Lynn Maalouf, from Amnesty International, said: "We were shocked and saddened to hear of the death of Dr. Abdullah Al-Hamid while in detention because of his peaceful activities."

Saudi Ambassador to Bahrain Sultan bin Ahmed bin Abdulaziz confirmed that 965 Saudi nationals were evacuated from Bahrain.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman approved an extension of the kingdom's curfew until further notice due to the rate at which the coronavirus is currently spreading, the state news agency (SPA) reported early on Sunday.

A Republican U.S. senator introduced legislation on Thursday to remove American troops from Saudi Arabia, adding pressure on the kingdom to tighten its oil taps to reverse the crude price drop that has hurt domestic energy companies.

Dozens of members of the ruling Saudi royal family have been infected with coronavirus in recent weeks, the New York Times newspaper reported.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said on Wednesday it was halting military operations nationwide in support of U.N. efforts to end a five-year war that has killed over 100,000 people and spread hunger and disease.

Saudi Arabia placed its capital Riyadh and other big cities under a 24-hour curfew on Monday, locking down much of the population as the largest Gulf Arab country expanded efforts to stem the spread of the new coronavirus.

Saudi Arabia will impose a nationwide curfew starting on Monday after reporting a jump of almost a quarter in coronavirus cases, while the United Arab Emirates will suspend all passenger flights as of Wednesday, state media reported.

Saudi Arabia has temporarily suspended travel of citizens and residents and halted flights with several states due to coronavirus fears, state news agency SPA said on Thursday citing an official source at Interior Ministry.

Saudi Arabia has detained three senior Saudi princes including Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, the younger brother of King Salman, and Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the king's nephew, for allegedly planning a coup, sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Saudi Arabia's decision to close its land border (including the border with Bahrain via the King Fahd Causeway) is to come into effect on Saturday (March 7, 2020) night. Its decision comes within a series of precautionary measures taken by the Kingdom to counter the Coronavirus.

International media outlets confirmed that the Saudi authorities had carried out a campaign of arrests that included senior princes of the royal family during the past two days.

Saudi Arabia expanded a rare freeze on pilgrimages to the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina by foreigners to also include Saudi citizens and residents due to concerns about the new coronavirus, state news agency SPA reported.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Kuwait decided to suspend the travel of all GCC citizens using the Identity Card until further notice, due to coronavirus outbreak.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry pointed out to the temporary precautionary measures taken by Saudi Arabia to suspend the use of the national identity card for Saudi and GCC nationals to travel to or from Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia on Thursday suspended visas for visits to Islam's holiest sites for the "umrah" pilgrimage, an unprecedented move triggered by coronavirus fears that raises questions over the annual hajj.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain have agreed to resume postal services to Qatar almost three years after they were stopped due to a political dispute, the United Nations said on Monday.

Qatar has accused Saudi Arabia of allowing a protracted dispute to hinder Gulf Arab coordination over the coronavirus outbreak by denying the Qatari health minister timely access to a meeting of regional health ministers in Riyadh.