Citizens and expats who are not vaccinated are now prohibited from entering shopping centres across Saudi Arabia
14 June 2021
| Last updated on 16 June 2021
The new Covid-19 rule in Saudi Arabia is effective from August 1, 2021.
Unvaccinated citizens and expats are now banned from entering any Saudi Arabia commercial outlets and shopping malls.
The Saudi Ministry of Interior has made it mandatory that any individuals entering shops and other commercial outlets must have had at least one dose, or have been fully vaccinated after recovering from Covid-19.
Those exempt from the new rule are minors under the age of 18, and those who cannot take the coronavirus vaccine due to health reasons, said a Ministry of Commerce spokesman.
The move was made to help reduce the spread of the pandemic, and encourage individuals to vaccinate against the virus.
Government employee Eman Al-Shethry told local Arab News: "I feel that when the people who are skeptical of vaccinations see others roaming around freely, they would see that vaccines are not scary or harmful."
At the time of publishing, Saudi Arabia reported 1,109 new Covid-19 cases, 1,148 recoveries, and 18 new virus-related deaths.
The total number of cases in the kingdom is now at 466,906, out of which 449,241 recovered. The death toll as risen to 7,590.
An estimated 15.9 million coronavirus vaccine jabs have been administered so far in Saudi Arabia.
