Forty-five people have been diagnosed with food poisoning in Kowaiayia district in Riyadh after having lunch at a restaurant in the area. Eleven of them have been admitted to the intensive care unit at Kowaiyia General Hospital.

The municipality has shut down the restaurant.

Abdullah Al-Askar, undersecretary of Municipalities Affairs in Riyadh, said that when the Kowaiyia Municipality received reports of cases of food poisoning from restaurant meals, an ad hoc committee was formed to deal with the matter.

He said food samples taken from the restaurant are being checked and some of its workers have been taken into custody for questioning. He said that the speed with which the people affected were taken ill showed the degree of poisoning.

The Riyadh health department announced a state of emergency at the hospital, with all doctors and nurses called to duty and asked to extend all medial help to the affected. The department also said that an internal committee had also been formed, and would be headed by the director of the hospital, Dr. Ataallah Al-Shibani, and the medical director, Dr. Abdulatheem Ahmad, to ensure that all necessary procedures are followed.