As Saudi Arabia mobilized its resources to contain the outbreak of the coronavirus, the government in Riyadh transitioned from dealing with the contagion as a regional issue to a matter of national security. As of March 31, the Saudi government had reported1,563 confirmed coronavirus cases to the World Health Organization. The virus first emerged in Qatif in the Eastern Province, which immediately was put under quarantine. However, the spread of the virus forced the leadership to adopt a more comprehensive national approach. By the end of March 2020, Riyadh Province has the highest percentage of cases (36.72%), followed by Mecca Province (32.69%), and Eastern Province (20.02%).

Saudi decision making is centralized. In this instance, however, the central government authorized the kingdom’s 13 provincial governments to manage the crisis based on its instructions. Travel between provinces is forbidden, and some cities and districts where cases have emerged are on lockdown, with travel restricted even within the provinces. Generally, the local governments play the role of executors of the central will. This applies to putting certain hospitals on high alert and instituting curfews that start from 3:00 p.m. in some regions, while the rest of the country is observing an overnight curfew that begins at 7:00 p.m. Local governments enforce commercial closings and individual stay-at-home orders during the curfew. However, some stores and businesses remain open, including pharmacies and supermarkets, providing they sterilize shopping carts after each use.

In the case of Qatif, the Saudi government moved expeditiously, quarantining the major Shia district of the city beginning on March 8. Many questions were raised regarding the intention of this lockdown, mainly whether the government’s action was motivated purely by public health concerns or driven by politics.

This is a reasonable question given Qatif’s recent troubled history with the central government.

The Initial Outbreak in Qatif

To assess the government’s motivation, one should go back to March 2, the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak in Saudi Arabia. The first confirmed cases were Saudis who returned from Iran, after the conclusion of the pilgrimage to the grave of the Eight Holy Imams, located in the eastern religious center of Mashhad City. The Saudi government bans its citizens from traveling to the Islamic Republic due to the political tensions between the two countries, so these Saudis had traveled to Iran through a third country. Further, it became evident that Iran was facilitating this travel by waiving the regular procedure of stamping the passports of foreign nationals entering Iranian territory.

Reports about the coronavirus outbreak in Iran were becoming alarming, especially with the lack of transparency on the part of the government in Tehran. This amplified the concern about the incidence of infection among the Saudis who traveled to Iran, especially as it was difficult to get an accurate read regarding the number of visitors. The government became concerned about the spread of infection among not only the residents of Qatif, who tend to engage in many social gatherings, but also the neighboring villages that are linked to the city through a network of employment, friends, and relatives. Hence, the Saudi authorities took the aggressive step of quarantining the entire region to contain the spread of the coronavirus beyond Qatif and its suburbs.

Given the absence of diplomatic ties and the extreme tension in Iranian-Saudi relations, the Saudis who had traveled to Iran feared legal prosecution. However, the Saudi authorities declined to take a punitive approach, and to encourage cooperation, announced a pardon of all Saudis who visited Iran, provided they went immediately to the nearest hospital to get tested for the coronavirus and self-quarantined until they received the test results. This announcement reassured observers that the primary concern of the Saudi government was stopping the spread of the coronavirus and putting the welfare of its citizens above its political concerns regarding travel to Iran.

Nonetheless, the announcement of the pardon provoked some in the Saudi media, including columnists, journalists, and academics, to resort to familiar sectarian invective against Qatifi people and Saudi Shia in general. Joining in the criticism were some Saudi Shias seeking to improve their position with the government. Nevertheless, this distasteful sectarian response has declined, especially now that the number of infected cases outside Qatif has drastically increased. On the other hand, many Saudis across the country offered public support to Qatif through social and new media.

Overall, Qatifi people value the government’s action and are cooperating. Shia clergymen were the first to support the Saudi government action by calling for the suspension of religious gatherings, including congregational prayers and events related to ahl al-bayt (mourning or birth commemorations). In fact, new faces of Shia clergy have started to emerge in the media, including Sheikh Adel Al-Aswad, a traditional voice who has called on residents of Qatif to adhere to the government’s instructions regarding self-quarantine.

Distinctions with Other Regions? Not So Much…

The spread of the coronavirus is no longer limited to Qatif, with newly reported cases from three of the largest cities in Saudi Arabia, namely Mecca, Jeddah, and Riyadh. Initially, these regions saw restrictions such as the suspension of government work, without a quarantine of whole cities. Since March 25, however, Saudi authorities implemented a lockdown on Riyadh, Mecca, and Medina. The following day, the Saudi authorities extended the curfew to begin in those cities from 3:00 p.m.

The delay in implementing these policies throughout Saudi territory can be explained by the course of the spread of the virus, as well as the size of Mecca, Jeddah, and Riyadh, which are much larger cities. Placing such metropolitan cities under lockdown requires a great deal of planning and government resources.

While some dissidents such as Hamzah Al-Hassan accused the government of politicizing the epidemic by locking down Qatif exclusively, enforcement of restrictions today is taking place on a much broader scale. The public prosecutor’s office announced disciplinary actions against those who might violate government regulations related to the coronavirus, without singling out any particular region.

A speech given by King Salman bin Abdulaziz signaled a comprehensive approach to fighting the pandemic, announcing that the Saudi government is paying for testing and treatment of all residents regardless of nationality or legal status. After enforcement of curfews throughout the whole country, Saudis appreciate that these restrictions are being taken in the public interest, and they must follow the directives from the leadership to pass through this crisis. A number of Qatifis have expressed gratitude for the maintenance of the quarantine of the city, which ensures the safety of its community. Indeed, many Saudis have come to appreciate this unexpected opportunity to spend more time at home.