Ebook: Tale of three seeding patterns of SARS-CoV-2 in Saudi Arabia

Human mobility patterns are determinants
of disease transmission. This
is particularly relevant for severe acute
respiratory syndrome coronavirus
2
(SARS-CoV-2) transmission in Saudi
Arabia (population 34 million), which
experiences three types of population
movements. First is the international
and domestic movement of pilgrims
in Saudi Arabia. On average each
month about 1 million incoming
pilgrims from 180 countries merge
with about 1 million Saudi-national
Sunni pilgrims (75% of the Saudi
population) in Saudi Arabia’s two holy
sites and the nearest entry port of
Jeddah.1 Second is the returning Shiite
Saudi-national pilgrims (4·9 million
Shiite population in Saudi Arabia) who
travel to Iran and Iraq for pilgrimage.
Men and women older than 60 years
are overrepresented among pilgrims.
Third is routine travel to and from
Saudi Arabia by Saudis, permanent
residents, and non-pilgrim visitors for
commerce and tourism, estimated to
be about 3 million people each month.