Saudi Arabia broke its record in the number of investment deals and funding Saudi-based startups witnessed in 2019. Not only did the startups gain $60 million in funding since 2015, but also saw a 35 percent increase since 2018, placing the total startup funding at $67 million.

According to MAGNiTT's most recent report, "2019 Saudi Arabia Venture Capital Snapshot," the number of startup investments totaled 71, amounting to a 92-percent growth since 2018's total of 37 deals. This quick and sudden rise in investment and funding has pushed the kingdom up the ranks among the MENA region's countries, placing it third after the UAE and Egypt, respectively.

"Usually, these initiatives take time to come to fruition, but we have already seen their impact on the ecosystem in the country and the wider MENA region," stated MAGNiTT's founder & CEO Philip Bahoshy.

However, due to the focus of the Saudi government on innovation and entrepreneurship throughout 2018 and 2019 as part of its Vision 2030, the kingdom became one of the MENA region's fastest-growing startups and venture capital investment ecosystems.

Saudi-based startups also hit their all-time high in terms of institute investors in 2019. There was a total of 41 institutions that funded startups in the kingdom, a third of which were international-based. This amount was in fact higher than the total average across the MENA region.

In 2019, a total of 565 startup investments were made across the MENA and valued at $704 million. Out of the total number of investors, 48 were Saudi Arabian, making them the most active investors of the bunch.

The entire region saw a number of deals and funding directed at startups last year. Institutions alone represented 25 percent of the total investments made in the region. However, governments were not exempt from financially backing startups.

"Many governments in the region have been playing an active role in growing ecosystems conducive to entrepreneurs, including technical and financial support programmes and policy reforms," senior private sector specialist at the World Bank Ali Abu Kumail said.

Saudi Arabia has contributed to its strong startup growth through accelerator programs such as the Misk 500 MENA Accelerator and Misk Growth Accelerator, established by Misk Innovation, some of the most active investment promoters in the kingdom during last year. In fact, accelerators accounted for 32 percent of the entirety of the investments put into Saudi-based startups.

On Sunday, Saudi Arabia evacuated 10 students who were living in China's Wuhan, the city where the current coronavirus (nCoV) is believed to have originated. 

The kingdom's state television reported that Chinese authorities approved the special flight sent to repatriate the young men with no further details provided on the evacuation process. The Saudi students' landing and arrival back home were broadcast on live television. Images of Saudi Health Ministry personnel waiting for the evacuation plane to land in Riyadh were posted on social media as well.

The medics performed check-ups on the students inside the plane as soon as it landed. They then transported them to an area where they will live in quarantine for the next two weeks. 

Saudi Arabia is taking serious action to help prevent the deadly virus from infecting anyone in the country. Hours before evacuating students from Wuhan, Saudia airlines announced it would temporarily suspend flights to China starting Sunday. 

The kingdom isn't the only Arab country evacuating citizens from the epicenter of the current coronavirus as Egypt announced it will be following suit. 

On Sunday, Egyptian officials confirmed they have sent an airplane to bring back nationals living in Wuhan. Those returned will be quarantined upon arrival. 

Several other Arab countries have taken measures to protect their citizens from the ongoing outbreak. 

Over the weekend, Iraq announced it would ban all flights arriving from China. Other countries are expected to announce similar decisions this week. A number of Arab countries including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, and Bahrain are all screening passengers arriving from China at their airports. 

So far, the UAE is the only country in the region to have confirmed cases of the virus. Early on Sunday, the Gulf nation said it was dealing with a fifth infected patient, a Chinese tourist who recently arrived from Wuhan. 

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention said the man was in stable condition and is receiving treatment. His family - who flew in from the coronavirus-hit city with him - tested negative for the virus. 

Speaking to The National, assistant undersecretary at the Ministry of Health and Prevention Dr. Hussein Al Rand said the man's illness was not detected at the airport upon arrival but at a medical center later on. 

He added that "there is no reason to panic" as the UAE is well prepared and has preventive measures in place to deal with similar cases. 

Last week, local officials confirmed the first infection in the country among four tourists from the same family. At the time, they were all said to be in stable condition. The country continues to screen for the virus at its local airports and has yet to suspend flights to or from China. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has now declared the current coronavirus outbreak as a global emergency. 

This comes as the number of people infected by the virus continues to rise, especially in China. To deal with the national emergency, the East Asian country has turned an empty building into a 1,000-bed emergency facility in under two days to contain as many patients as possible. 

The illness has also spread to several countries including Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Italy, Germany, the UK, the U.S., and France.

Around 14,000 cases have been reported worldwide at the time of writing and the numbers are expected to rise. This is because the current coronavirus (nCoV) is said to be highly contagious. Scientists at Britain's Imperial College estimate that each coronavirus patient infects on average 2.6 others. 

According to WHO, measures that can be taken to prevent infection include: regular hand washing, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, thoroughly cooking meat and eggs, and avoiding close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.