The Saudi government will cover 60 per cent of the salaries of private-sector workers in industries hit by the coronavirus pandemic, King Salman announced on Friday.

The move is the latest major economic package in the kingdom to help cushion the financial impact of the virus as the number of cases hit 1,885 with 21 deaths.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency announced that companies forced to consider lay-offs due to the virus could now apply to the government to cover 60 per cent of the salaries of workers for the next three months up to 9,000 Saudi riyal per month (Dh 8,787).

The total economic package is valued at over 9 billion riyal.

Coronavirus in the Middle East

Palestinian artist Rana al-Ramlawi works on a sand sculpture in front of her home in Gaza City during the novel coronavirus pandemic crisis. AFP Boys sell cotton candy an hour ahead of the curfew imposed by the government as prevention measures due to the coronavirus outbreak, in Cairo, Egypt. AP Photo A woman displays her mask as Filipinos who availed general amnesty granted by the Kuwaiti government gather at the Kuwait International Airport Terminal on their home to Manila amid the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic crisis. For systematic documentations, illegal ex-pats from the Philippines, Egypt, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and other countries were at first, requested to submit themselves at a school compound in Farwaniya arranged according to nationalities. AFP An Iraqi man wearing a protective face mask and gloves gives a bottle of water to a homeless man, who sits in front of a closed shop during a curfew imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Basra, Iraq. REUTERS People walk or ride bicycles over a bridge, during the novel coronavirus pandemic crisis, in the Emirati city of Dubai. AFP An Iraqi public hospital specialised doctor checks a woman's temperature for COVID-19 in the capital Baghdad's suburb of Sadr City, as part of actions taken by the authorities against the spread of the novel coronavirus. The process of examining citizens at their residences in Baghdad's eastern districts was launched in order to detect infection with the virus in the area where many cases were found to isolate patients and take them for treatment in public hospitals to limit the spread of the pandemic. AFP A woman covering her face walks past a poster depicting late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Shatila Palestinian refugee camp, as the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Beirut suburbs, Lebanon. REUTERS Libyans wearing protective face masks queue in front of a bank in the centre of the capital Tripoli, amidst the novel coronavirus pandemic crisis. AFP A fully veiled Syrian woman sews protective masks against the coronavirus COVID-19 at a workshop belonging to the humanitarian organisation Voluntary Relief Association, in the rebel-held town of Binnish in Syria's northwestern Idlib province. Fears are high that the virus could spread rapidly among the war-battered country's most vulnerable communities. The violence-plagued northwest, where around a million people have been displaced by conflict since December alone, is particularly vulnerable. AFP Empty chairs and tables are seen in a closed shop as a man walks towards a near-empty ferry pier in Istanbul, Turkey. Turkey has confirmed 168 deaths and 11,535 positive cases of the coronavirus, officials continue to implement steps to contain the spread of the virus including a ban on all intercity bus travel, all Internationals flights have been stopped and recreational activities such as fishing, jogging and barbecuing have been suspended in a bid to stop the spread of the virus. Getty Images A woman wears a protective face mask and gloves, amid fear of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), as she sells the masks in Tajrish square in Tehran, Iran. REUTERS

Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jadaan thanked King Salman and called on private sector companies to protect workers but also find ways to avoid firing people during the outbreak.

He said the new assistance package will be managed through Sanad, the national unemployment assistance system.

Mr Al Jadaan said that 1.2 million Saudis would be covered by the new measure and a committee under the financial authorities would assess the support and monitor the measure in case it needed to be extended beyond the three-month window.

The cover will begin in April with the first payments sent to companies on May 3, the minister said.

The government has already announced a package of measures to help companies hit by restrictions brought in to combat the spread of Covid-19.

The 70 billion riyal package exempted them from some taxes and fees and the SPA also highlighted a further 50 billion riyal support package to banks and financial institutions to aid small and medium enterprises.

The move comes after the government extended curfews in several areas on Thursday.

The holy cities of Makkah and Madinah are now under 24-hour curfew – up from 15 hours a day before. In Dammam and the governorates of Taif and Al Qatif, the curfew has been brought forward by four hours to combat the spread of coronavirus.

From Friday, the curfews will begin at 3pm instead of 7pm and end at 6am.

The port of Dammam, on the Gulf, is a main entry point for supplies for the oil industry centred in the eastern region and for the rest of the kingdom.

Riyadh and Jeddah have already been sealed off by authorities, barring people from entering and exiting the cities as well as prohibiting movement between all provinces.

Cars in the cities may only carry one passenger to limit transmission of the virus.