Riyadh, May 25, 2020, SPA -- Health Minister Dr. Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah has affirmed that the great support of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense for the health sector, and all what have been invested in this sector made the health capabilities and readiness in their best levels, adding that the early precautions provided us with the opportunity to control the pace of the new Coronavirus spread, get ready for it, spread the culture and awareness in the society, and also enabled us to maintain the health system, and to double the capacity of the laboratories, the critical care rooms and the ventilators during the past period. This came in a speech of the Health Minster as follows: "I congratulate you on the blessed Eid Al-Fitr. After five months since this pandemic have started, where the global health systems faced great difficulties in dealing with it, the society has become today more aware of this virus and implementing the measures of the social distancing, as it is a new experience for all of us. The great support of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for the health sector, and all what have been invested in this sector made the health capabilities and readiness in their best levels, adding that the early precautions provided us with the opportunity to control the pace of the new Coronavirus spread, get ready for it, spread the culture and awareness in the society, and also enabled us to maintain the health system, and to double the capacity of the laboratories, the critical care rooms and the ventilators during the past period. We are proud of the Saudi experts in this field who are internationally recognized, and we rely on their experiences in dealing with that virus. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's preparations since the pandemic was announced, and the commitment of the citizens and residents to the precautionary measures have a major impact in reducing mortality rates which are among the lowest rates in the world. I thank and appreciate the citizens and residents for their commitment, awareness and following the guidelines for the social distancing, which helped us to be more ready to deal with the pandemic with a long-term strategy. Now, we have a clear interim vision for the next stage based on two indicators: First: Our capacity for the critical cases. Second: The policy of expanding the tests and early detection of the cases in society. We are moving from one phase to another according to an accurate health assessment, which gives us rapidity in amending the approach and reviewing the path whenever the need arises. These phases gradually start from next Thursday, and expand until the return to the normal conditions with its new concept based on the social distancing. The return to the normal conditions requires that we all have a high responsibility and attention and follow the health guidelines, especially for the people who are at higher risk of being infected with the virus, including the elderly, people with chronic diseases, people with respiratory diseases and weak immunity, and we ask them to take more care of themselves and ask those around them to consider them and take care of them . I also ask everyone to cover the nose and mouth when leaving the house. With our commitment together, we will reach safety. --SPA 22:40 LOCAL TIME 19:40 GMT 0018 www.spa.gov.sa/w1337344