Saudi shopping malls open only to vaccinated people from Aug.1

Saudi Arabia will bar people from entering its shopping malls unless they have been vaccinated against COVID-19, state TV reported on Sunday, citing a decision by the trade ministry that will come into effect on Aug.1

"Having received at least one vaccine shot will be a condition for entering commercial facilities," the trade ministry said.

Saudi Arabia has administered 15.7 million vaccine doses so far, enough to have inoculated 23% of the population, according to the Reuters COVID-19 tracker.

A Saudi family walks at a shopping mall in Riyadh.

On Saturday, the Saudi Arabian government has announced its decision to limit the upcoming Hajj season to domestic pilgrims only with a maximum of 60,000 individuals in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In its announcement on Saturday, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah said it decided to limit the availability of registration for those wishing to perform the annual pilgrimage this year to citizens and residents inside the country only, due to the global Covid outbreaks and the new virus mutations.

This year, vaccinated and recovered citizens and residents of the age group 18-65 who do not have chronic diseases will be allowed to register to perform Hajj.

The upcoming Hajj will be the second season with no overseas pilgrims due to concerns of the pandemic.

The Ministry of Hajj stressed that the decision was taken for the safety and health of pilgrims, supported by the other Islamic states.

Agencies