Up to 150 members of Saudi Arabia’s royal family have contracted the coronavirus, a person close to the family told The New York Times.
Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulziz al Saud, the governor of Riyadh and a nephew of King Salman, was confirmed to have tested positive by two doctors, according to the Times. Many of the thousands of princes in the family are believed to have brought back the virus after traveling to Europe, the newspaper reported, citing doctors and people close to the family.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and many of his ministers are in isolation on the coast of the Red Sea, while the 84-year-old King Salman is also in isolation near the city of Jeddah, according to the newspaper.
Doctors at an elite hospital that treats royals are preparing 500 more beds for an expected influx of patients.
“Directives are to be ready for VIPs from around the country,” the operators of the elite facility, the King Faisal Specialist Hospital, wrote in a “high alert” sent out electronically on Tuesday to senior doctors and later obtained by the Times.