Saudi Arabia has introduced a number of measures to prevent the spread of a new coronavirus, CNBC reported.

The government said it was temporarily “suspending entry to the kingdom for the purpose of umrah and visiting the Prophet’s Mosque,” in a statement published Thursday.

The decision was taken “to support the efforts of countries and international organizations, especially the World Health Organization, to stop the spread of the virus, control it and eliminate it,” the ministry added.

The outbreak caused by the new coronavirus disease was recorded at the end of December 2019 in the most populous city of Central China - Wuhan with a population of 12 million. WHO recognized it as an emergency on an international scale. The Chinese authorities recorded 2715 deaths in the country, and over 29.7 thousand people recovered, the number of people infected during the entire spread of the virus exceeded 78 thousand.