SAUDI Arabia today ordered a lockdown on Jeddah province as part of measures to stem the spread of Covid-19, Anadolu Agency quoted the official SPA news agency report.

SPA, citing a source with the Interior Ministry, said entry and exit will be prohibited from the province.

Authorities also brought forward a curfew in the province to start at 3pm local time (8pm Malaysian time) instead of 7pm.

Last week, Saudi authorities imposed a three-week curfew and locked down Riyadh and the holy cities of Mecca and Medina to curb the disease.

Saudi Arabia has reported three deaths from the virus and over 1,100 confirmed cases.

Data compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University shows over 666,200 infections worldwide with over 30,800 deaths. More than 141,700 have recovered.

After first appearing in Wuhan, China in December, the virus has spread to 177 countries and regions. – Bernama, March 29, 2020.