Okaz/Saudi Gazette RIYADH – Over 6,000 Saudi doctors are earnestly fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in different hospitals all over the world. Of them, about 1,500 are in Europe working in hospitals side-by-side with their colleagues there, to alleviate the pressure on European hospitals, the head of the Kingdom's mission at the European Union (EU) Ambassador Saad Bin Muhammad Al-Arifi told Okaz/Saudi Gazette recently. "The Kingdom's international and regional weight at all levels has facilitated lending a hand to all with its financial and human capabilities. The current humanitarian situation mankind is facing has called upon the Kingdom to provide all the assistance it can offer. The Kingdom has not and will not spare any effort to assist its brethren and friends in countering this pandemic," Al-Arifi said. He stressed that the global nature of this pandemic has caused the whole world to stand together in solidarity and exert their utmost efforts for its eradication. The role the Kingdom has played internally and externally to prevent the spread of this virus in all the countries of the world is evident to all, he said. Al-Arifi considered the praise by ambassadors of foreign countries in Riyadh, specially the EU ambassador to the Kingdom, for the measures the Kingdom has taken and the services it has provided to the citizens and expatriates and even to violators of the residency (iqama) regulations, as reflecting the Kingdom's seriousness to protect the health of all those residing in the country. Al-Arifi said the ambassadors have also praised the effectiveness of the adopted measures. He added that the global pandemic is the first of its kind faced by the world since the spread of the Spanish influenza. The reactions of countries varied as to how they faced the crisis. "From our location in Europe, we see that the EU countries have taken all possible measures to protect their citizens and economies," he asserted.
