RIYADH — Saudi Arabia on Tuesday announced application of new standards in government and private hospitals to confront the coronavirus pandemic. The Central Board for Accreditation of Healthcare Institutions (CBAHI) said that a new list of “updated” criteria to combat the virus will be implemented. “The evaluation of hospitals under the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the private sector will begin this week. This will be undertaken in two phases in accordance with the updated standards as well as in line with the updates issued by MoH. The most prominent among the updated standards in respiratory screening are the following: 1) When the patient scores four or more points in the medical case sheet format for the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) or COVID-19, the infected person will be given a surgical face mask for wearing and will be directed to do hand sterilization. The patient will also be directed to proceed to the waiting room for suspected respiratory cases with taking appropriate precautions. 2) For dialysis: When the patient scores four or more points in the medical case sheet format for the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) or COVID-19, the infected person will be given a surgical face mask for wearing and will be directed to do hand sterilization. The patient will also be directed to proceed to medical isolation room. Speaking to Al-Arabiya.net, Dr. Salem Al-Wahhabi, director general of CBAHI, said that the center, in line with a directive from Minister of Health Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, has issued the updated version of the criteria to combat coronavirus. Specialized field teams from CBAHI will follow these criteria during their surprise visits to the MoH and private hospitals, which are dealing with coronavirus cases in order to ensure the strict application of the updated standards. Al-Wahhabi said CBAHI is keen to apply the highest safety standards in hospitals. “We will not be lenient in our commitment to undertake strict evaluation and application of the standards in fighting coronavirus. CBAHI is always striving to work successfully in accordance with its slogan of “Eye on the quality of healthcare,” he added. It is noteworthy that the principal function of CBAHI is to set the healthcare quality and patient safety standards against which all healthcare facilities are evaluated for evidence of compliance.