The curfew imposed in Dammam city and the Taef and al-Qatif provinces has been brought forward as part of Saudi authorities’ ongoing preventive measures against the novel coronavirus, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Friday. An official source at the Interior Ministry said the indefinite curfew will now start at 3 pm, starting Friday. The Interior Ministry stressed that the new measure is part of the necessary efforts to preserve public health, urging the people to respect the guidelines. Saudi Arabia had on Thursday imposed a 24-hour curfew in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah to contain the outbreak. As of Thursday, the Kingdom has reported 1,720 cases and 21 deaths from the virus.