Saudi imposes 24-hour curfew across parts of Jeddah

Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday that a 24-hour curfew will be imposed on seven neighbourhoods in Jeddah to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

The areas include Kilo 14 South, Kilo 14 North, Al-Mahjar, Ghulail, Al-Qurayyat, Kilo 13, and Petromin.

Residents are only allowed to leave their homes for medical care and grocery shopping between 6am to 3pm, the Interior Ministry has said.

Entry and exit to the areas have also been restricted.

Jeddah was already under quarantine, with authorities banning entry and exit to the governorate last week.

Exemptions only apply to those working in healthcare and in vital public and private sectors such as security, military and media.

On Thursday, the kingdom also enforced a 24-hour curfew in Makkah and Madinah, which will remain in effect until further notice.

Residents of Makkah and Madinah are allowed to leave their homes only in exceptional cases to meet necessary needs such as health care requirements and to obtain food supplies.

However, they must restrict their movements to remain within their residential neighbourhood and should exit from their homes only between 6am until 3pm, if necessary.

Read: Saudi Arabia imposes 24-hour lockdown until further notice in Makkah, Madinah

On Saturday, Saudi’s health ministry announced 140 new Covid-19 cases to reach a total of 2,179.

It also reported four new deaths to take the total death toll to 29.

The kingdom has taken several measures to curb the spread of the virus.

On March 29, Saudi Arabia said that it had decided to extend the ongoing suspension of all international passengers flights to the kingdom – excluding exceptional cases – until further notice.

Read: Saudi extends suspension of international and domestic flights, buses, taxis

Domestic passenger flights as well as buses, taxis and train activities, would also continue to be suspended until further notice.

The kingdom also directed its private and public sector entities to continue working remotely from home.