A source in Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior on Wednesday said the Kingdom will reinforce wearing masks in public places including outdoor events as of Thursday amid a rise in COVID-19 cases worldwide, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.SPA said the new rule will come into effect from 7:00 a.m. on December 30, 2021.The risk posed by the rapidly-spreading omicron variant of COVID-19 is still “very high”, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.“The overall risk related to the new variant of concern omicron remains very high. Consistent evidence shows that the omicron variant has a growth advantage over the Delta variant with a doubling time of two to three days and rapid increases in the incidence of cases is seen in a number of countries,” the WHO said in its COVID-19 weekly epidemiological update.The Kingdom reported 602 new coronavirus cases Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases to 553,921. The country reported one new death.There are 39 critical COVID-19 cases in Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Health said.Read more:COVID-19 omicron variant risk remains “very high”: WHOCOVID-19 with omicron isn’t ‘same disease,’ Oxford scientist says
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi Arabia to reinforce wearing masks in public amid rise in COVID-19 cases
