Saudi authorities urge public to follow precautions to ensure safe Ramadan

Jeddah: With a few days remaining for the start of Ramadan, Saudi health authorities on Sunday warned the Kingdom's residents to remain vigilant and stick to safety precautions put in place to reduce the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), according to an Arab News report.

Ministry of Health (MoH) spokesman Dr. Mohammed Al-Abd Al-Aly reminded residents of the importance of following the precautions during a press conference.

"Last year's Ramadan was unlike any other Ramadan that we have experienced," he said, adding that visitors to mosques would need to follow set guidelines, such as bringing their own prayer mats, attending prayer on time, socially distancing and staying clear of overcrowding.

He also highlighted the importance of following precautions during family gatherings. "We are used to family gatherings during Ramadan — they are special and bring the family together — but we must limit the number of visitors in gatherings."

On Saturday, the MoH announced it would be postponing second doses of COVID-19 vaccines in order to ensure more people receive their first dose.

"The challenges are a race against time. We want to ensure that the most vulnerable are prioritized and receive their first vaccine to gain immunity," Al-Abd Al-Aly said, adding that cancelled slots would be rearranged automatically.

"The second dose acts as a booster to the immunity one develops after the first dose," he said.

A total of 799 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the Kingdom on Sunday, meaning 398,435 people in Saudi Arabia have now contracted the disease.

There are 8,360 active cases, 915 of them are critical.

In addition, 548 new recovered cases were announced, taking the total number of recoveries to 383,321. The Kingdom's recovery rate is holding steady at 96.2 percent.

Seven new COVID-19 related deaths were reported, raising the death toll to 6,754.

Saudi Arabia has administered more than 6.25 million COVID-19 vaccine doses so far. A total of 58,897 PCR tests were conducted in the past 24 hours, raising the total number of tests conducted in the Kingdom to 15,797,442.

Elsewhere, 30,054 violations of precautionary and preventive measures were reported over the past week. The highest numbers of violations were in Riyadh (11,162), Makkah (5,883), and the Eastern Province (4,183). Jazan (155) and Najran (132) had the lowest number of reported violations.

The Ministry of Interior stressed that citizens and residents must continue to adhere to the preventive measures and instructions issued by the authorities for their own safety and the safety of fellow citizens and residents.