8,787 businesses to stay closed in Riyadh until June 20

Riyadh municipality announced on Wednesday that 8,787 commercial businesses have been prohibited from practicing their usual activities until June 20, including barber shops, beauty salons, gyms, cinemas and shisha cafes.

The Saudi authorities excluded all activities where social distancing cannot be applied from the three-phased plan it unveiled on May 25 for a return to normal life. Other activities that remain suspended include sports and health clubs, recreational centers and cinemas.

As curfew restrictions have eased up in the Kingdom, the Ministry of Health reminded people who have returned to work this week not to share eating utensils with co-workers. The Kingdom recorded 30 new COVID-19-related deaths on Wednesday, raising the total to 579. There were 2,171 new cases reported in the Kingdom, meaning 91,182 people have now contracted the disease. There are 22,444 active cases, 1,321 of them are in critical condition.

The Health Ministry also announced that 2,369 more patients had recovered from coronavirus, bringing the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 68,159. Saudi Arabia has so far conducted 870,963 tests for COVID-19.

The ministry called upon people to continue washing their hands using soap and water, the basic preventive measure against the virus, as well as covering the nose and mouth with a face mask, medical or fabric, except for those in an enclosed space.

Anyone experiencing any of the symptoms of the virus — high fever, dry cough and breathing difficulties — is advised to use the “Mawid” app for self-evaluation, or call 937 for inquiries
and consultations. The ministry has enabled callers to get reliable information  through an interactive chat with medical teams via WhatsApp on 920005937.