RIYADH - The curve of the Coronavirus in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has witnessed a noticeable increase in the total number of confirmed infections and critical cases, and it is likely to increase in the coming days, the spokesman of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Mohammed Al-Abdali said. The Health Ministry spokesman, at the press conference here on Sunday, said that the critical cases are on the increase due to those who did not take the vaccines and who did not complete their doses. The official spokesman called on pregnant women and those who recovered from Covid-19 to receive the booster dose, indicating that it will not negatively affect them. He said that long-term of COVID-19 is an extension of the basic symptoms and its causes might be because of immune disorders, or problems in the nervous system, explaining that the booster dose reduces long-term symptoms. Talking about obtaining a fourth or more doses is still too early, he added The official spokesman pointed out that children are given doses in smaller quantities compared to the doses given to adults, in addition to the use of an intended needles for kids. Al-Abdali stated that the world is recording a huge number of infected cases, as the Covid-19 waves had passed through several high stages. New COVID-19 cases in Saudi Arabia went above the 1,000-mark for the first time in months, bringing the total number of confirmed infections in the Kingdom to 558,106. More than 51 million doses of coronavirus vaccines have been given in Saudi Arabia, Dr. Al-Abdali said. From his side, The Ministry of Interior spokesman Lt. Col. Talal Al-Shalhoub reiterated the decision of the Ministry of Interior to re-imposition of wearing masks and maintaining physical distancing measures in all indoors and outdoors effective from Thursday, in a new move to stem the spread of the mutated Omicron variant of coronavirus. He confirmed that failure to wear a medical mask or cloth mask or what covers the nose and mouth is a violation of these preventive measures against coronavirus. "The penalty for not wearing a mask is SR1000 for an individual. Al-Shalhoub reminded that the booster dose will be mandatory for anyone wanting to attend any social, economic, commercial, cultural, scientific, entertainment or sporting event in Saudi Arabia from February 1 entering the facilities from Feb. 1, 2022. He said that the penalty for spreading rumors does not exceed one SR1 million and imprisonment for a period of no less than one year. The Ministry of Interior reported 8,955 violations of precautionary and preventive measures against the coronavirus. As the security authorities have detected a total of 4159 violations of coronavirus precautionary measures and preventive protocols since the decision of re-imposition of the measures in various regions of the Kingdom has come into force. At the same press conference, Muhammad Lafi Al-Mohammadi, Assistant Chief Executive Officer for Communicable Diseases Control at the Public Health Authority (Weqaya) has stated that the omicron mutant increased globally more than the prevailnt variants. He said that Omicron has a high growth capacity, as he stressed the importance of adhering to preventive measures. He warned against non-essential travel outside the Kingdom, adding that to take a medical swab in the event of appearance of any respiratory symptoms such as high temperature.
