(June 12, 2020- ARAB NEWS)

Mosques reopen 40 minutes before the call for Friday prayer

DUBAI: Mosques in Saudi Arabia, except those in Makkah and Jeddah, will reopen 40 minutes before the call for Friday prayer starting Friday June 12, state news agency SPA reported citing the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance.
The Ministry of Health reported 3,733 new confirmed corona-virus cases, bringing the total number of infections to 116,021 cases. It has also recorded 2,065 recoveries, raising the total to 80,019.
The Ministry of Health added that 38 new fatalities have been confirmed; bringing the total number of deaths to 857.

Volunteers share their experiences in the fight against COVID-19

RIYADH: While doctors, nurses, and other essential health-care workers are rightly lauded for their work on the front line of the ongoing battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, the contribution of thousands of Saudi volunteers will not be forgotten either.
Following a call from the Ministry of Health back in April, more than 160,000 people registered as volunteers on the online portal. The volunteers have been divided into more than 400 different categories, and there are currently 72,000 active volunteers across the Kingdom. Arab News invited a few of them to share their stories.
Lyla Ashry, who is currently in the last month of her medical internship, said that her initial reaction to the idea of dealing with COVID-19 patients was a mixture of apprehension and a desire to be helpful.
“I was worried based on what we experienced with MERS-CoV (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, the previous strain of coronavirus in the region), but glad to be in a position where I could help and put my medical experience to use. I’m a healthy young person and hoped I could be useful, but also considered how it might impact my family if they caught it,” she said.
The cost of Ashry’s help ended up being high, as her entire family came down with COVID-19 symptoms. Her mother tested positive for the virus.
“I was not swabbed, but my mother was confirmed positive and, because I was nursing her at home, I stayed in quarantine with her,” Ahsry said.