RIYADH, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia approved on Thursday additional measures to reduce the economic impacts of COVID-19.
Economy and Planning Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said that the initiative of covering the salaries of the Saudis working in the private sector has been extended, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The initiative will pay for 70 percent of the salaries of Saudis working in organizations severely affected by COVID-19, and 50 percent of the salaries of the people working in organizations less affected.
He revealed that during the last three months, more than 90,000 organizations and 480,000 employees have been covered by the initiative with a budget of 3.5 billion Saudi Riyals (933 million U.S. dollars).
Meanwhile, the General Authority of Zakat and Tax introduced several initiatives, including postponing tax payments.
The Health Ministry announced the registration of 3,383 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, increasing the accumulated cases to 197,608.
The kingdom also registered 4,909 new recoveries, bringing the total recovered cases to 137,668. The death toll rose to 1,752 with 54 new fatalities.
Saudi Arabia and China have supported each other in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
In mid-February, the kingdom offered generous support to China to help fight the deadly virus at the early stage of its outbreak. On March 11, Saudi Arabia delivered to the Chinese city of Wuhan a shipment of medical aid.
As the virus raged in Saudi Arabia, a team of eight Chinese medical experts visited the kingdom on April 15 to assist its anti-coronavirus fight.
On April 26, the two sides signed a deal worth 265 million U.S. dollars for expanding Saudi Arabia's coronavirus testing capacity. Enditem
