Qatar drops coronavirus restrictions just before World Cup match Saudi Arabia says coronavirus may be used as cover for attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen More than a dozen nations, including the U.S., have imposed travel bans or curtailed travel, and more are likely to follow if the spread of the virus continues.
Saudi Arabia says coronavirus may be used as cover for attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Monday that the decision to cancel an annual regional summit of Gulf Arab countries in the kingdom in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak would be taken in “the next few days.” Jubeir said that the decision to cancel the meeting “has no influence on the Saudi-Yemeni relations.”
“We will make it clear when next the summit is held and the date,” Jubeir told reporters at a news conference in Beijing, when asked if the decision to cancel the summit was related to the virus outbreak. “We will give reasons when next we meet.”
Saudi Arabia has long been criticized for supporting the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are in a war with the Saudi-backed forces.
As of Monday, there were a total of 37 cases of coronavirus infection in the country, of which 10 were confirmed in “persons who had never been in contact with anyone who had traveled outside of the Kingdom,” according to the General Authority for Medical Affairs, the country’s health authority.
It’s not the first time Yemen has seen outbreaks of the coronavirus, though the most recent outbreak was in December 2018, and one was confirmed in the country’s capital, Sanaa.
