COVID-19: Saudi authorities shut 149 Jeddah shops for breaking health protocols in three days

Saudi municipal authorities in Jeddah have shut down 149 shops over the past three days for breaking health protocols, local media reported.

Undersecretary for Sub-Municipalities, Engineer Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al Zahrani, said the shops have a variety of activities, including 15 workshops, and they all violated municipal regulations and precautionary measures meant to stem the spread of coronavirus.

Al Zahrani confirmed businesses are required to adhere to precautionary measures which include providing their staff with disinfectants and sanitisers, taking the temperatures of both staff and customers at the entrances of shopping malls.

Other measures include sterilising shopping trolleys and baskets after each use, sanitising facilities and surfaces, closing children’s play areas and fitting rooms in shopping malls and ready-wear outlets.

Any gathering of shoppers or workers inside or outside a shopping mall in a way that exceeds the numbers stipulated in the precautionary measures and preventive measures, will attract a penalty of 5,000 riyals for each person exceeding the stipulated numbers, but not exceeding 100,000 riyals.