Saudi Arabia to Lift Curfew Across the Nation

JEDDAH — Saudi Arabia will lift curfew across the nation starting Sunday, June 21, the Interior Ministry announced on Saturday.

The curfew will be lifted across the country, including in the cities of Makkah and Jeddah where residents are currently just allowed to leave their homes for essentials.

All economic and business activities will be allowed to operate on the condition that they strictly comply with the precautionary measures, the ministry said.

Separately, the Municipal Authorities said, men’s barbershops and women’s beauty salons have also been allowed to function from Sunday acrong the nation.

Umrah pilgrimage and international flights will remain suspended until further notice, the interior ministry said, adding that land and sea borders will also remain closed.

The ministry also stressed that social distancing measures must be strictly followed. Gatherings of no more than 50 people are strictly forbidden, the ministry added.

Individuals must also wear a face mask at all times when they are out in a public place.

Those violating any of the preventive measures will be penalized, the ministry warned.

Saudi Arabia after hovering between 4,300 and 5,000 new daily coronavirus infections for six consecutive days, COVID-19 cases in Saudi Arabia showed a significant decline on Saturday, the ministry of health said.

The ministry reported 3,941 new infections during the last 24 hours, making the total figure to 154,233. Also the Kingdom announced the recovery of 3,153 increasing the total number of recoveries to 98,917 cases which is 64% of the total cases.

The total number of fatalities due to COVID-19 virus increased to 1,230 with an announcement of 46 new deaths, total deaths are  less than 1% of the total cases.