RIYADH - Saudi Arabia's decision to re-impose wearing of face masks and maintaining physical distancing came into force on Thursday, Dec. 30, in all regions of the Kingdom. The Ministry of Interior announced that wearing of face masks and maintaining physical distancing and adhereing to all precautionary and preventive measures has become mandatory in all the open and cloced areas The Minister of Health, Fahd Al-Jalajil, called on everyone to hurry up to receive the booster dose, as it is necessary to reduce the risks of the virus' spread. In order to get through this phase together, we depend on "community awareness", Al-Jalajil said It is noteworthy that this decision has been taken as a new move to curb the rapid increase in cases of COVID-19 variants. The source explained that legal procedures and penalties will be applied on violators.