Saudi authorities ramp up health inspection tours

Authorities in Saudi Arabia closed several commercial establishments during inspection tours to ensure facilities were applying COVID-19 precautionary measures. (Twitter/@JeddahAmanah)

JEDDAH: Saudi municipalities have ramped up efforts to monitor compliance with anti-COVID-19 health and safety measures.
Eastern Province municipality carried out 9,543 inspection tours in one week in shopping malls, commercial centers and stores.
It issued penalties to 459 people for ignoring health regulations, including failure to use the Tawakkalna app and overcrowding.
In Jeddah, the municipality closed 43 facilities during 10,413 monitoring rounds carried out at the end of last week in order to ensure that commercial establishments were complying with the precautionary guidelines and measures. 49 other establishments were issued fines.
Asir municipality also carried out 9,660 inspection tours in two weeks across shops and commercial centers, and found 66 health violations, including ignoring social distancing and mask wearing rules, leniency in measuring the body temperatures of customers, overcrowding issues, and failures to use the Tawakkalna app effectively.
The Tawakkalna app was launched last year to help track COVID-19 cases and has been updated to show vaccination information, including an individual’s status, such as vaccinated or infected. It now functions as a COVID-19 “passport.”
Municipalities urged all commercial facilities to abide by regulations to ensure public safety and prevent the spread of the disease.
Officials have also urged the public to report any suspected health breaches by phoning the 940 call center number or contacting authorities through the Balady app.
Meanwhile, Hail’s health department carried out 535 inspection tours during July to ensure that precautionary measures were being adhered to. The tours included 99 visits to government and private hospitals, 211 visits to private medical complexes, and 225 visits to private pharmacies.