Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has banned gatherings and crowds of more than five people under new regulations issued by the Ministry of Interior to curb the spread of coronavirus.
To make this new regulation work penalties in the form of heavy fines will be imposed on the violators. An official source at the Ministry of Interior has said.
The law has been approved by Minister of Interior Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Saud Bin Naif.
Gatherings that include more than one family and individuals who are not members of the same family are prohibited. Individuals are not allowed to congregate in malls or retail stores. People who do not live together are also banned from gathering together.
A newly formed police unit will monitor the new regulations. The new regulations have been issued with the objective of ensuring social distancing and limiting gatherings that are a direct cause of the outbreak of the pandemic, the ministry said in the statement.
Ramadan is the time when Saudis enjoy the life. After Taraweeh prayer they visit the city outskirts and spend the whole night in the desert and return homes after dawn prayer. They enjoy fast food for sahoor (predawn meal). Children are found playing football and adults enjoy Qahwah (Arabic coffee), dates and hubbly bubbly (hookah also called shisha pipe). On Makkah highway, one can find hundreds of tents erected especially for Ramadan with desert coolers, generators for lights and makeshift toilets and taps for ablution. Ramadan is the time when school have vacations. They will be missing all these due to lockdown restrictions.
The following are the fines for the violations:
1- SR10,000 for family gathering inside homes, rest houses or farms for more than one family, if they are not living in one house.
2- SR15,000 for non-family gathering inside homes, rest houses, farms, camps, chalets, or open areas for the residents of one or more neighborhoods
3- SR30,000 for gathering on occasions of weddings, offering of condolences, parties, seminars, salons, etc.
4- SR50,000 for any gathering of workers within houses or buildings under construction, or rest houses or farms other than their accommodation.
5- SR5,000 for any gathering of shoppers or workers inside or outside the commercial store exceeding the numbers stipulated in the precautionary measures and preventive measures. This fine will be imposed on each person exceeding the stipulated numbers and the maximum fine for the members of the gathering is SR100,000.
6- The fine will be doubled for repeating any of the violations mentioned above with the closure of the private sector facilities for a period of three months.
7- The fine will be doubled for repeating any of the violations for the second time and the private sector establishment will be closed for a period of six months and the case against the concerned person will be referred to the Public Prosecution.
The minister approved the new regulations as an addition to the punitive measures announced on May 5 for various violations of the coronavirus precautionary and preventive measures. The new regulations have been issued with the objective of ensuring social distancing and limiting gatherings that are a direct cause of the outbreak of the pandemic, the ministry said in the statement