Saudi Arabia has begun the second of three phases in reopening businesses, retail, and restaurants after a Kingdom-wide shutdown to stop the spread of the Coronavirus.
The second phase seeks to resume economic activity and gradually return to normal, reducing curfews and allowing for people to be outside for longer. Domestic flights have resumed, as have local Saudi train routes.
The Kingdom issued other guidelines and rules for the second phase, which covers a wide range of sectors and practices for Saudis and businesses.
A worker cleans shopping carts in Saudi Arabia for customers.
The Saudi English daily newspaper Arab News “toured different neighborhoods in Riyadh, and noticed a large number of people meeting their families and friends in restaurants and coffee shops. Most of them adhered to the government’s regulations of social distancing and were wearing face masks.”
Saudi Arabia enforced some of the strictest preventative measures of any country worldwide to stop the spread of the virus in the Kingdom. But with the holy month of Ramadan and eid falling during the lockdowns, controlling the virus was especially difficult.
Now, mosques are now reopening as well. The Kingdom has reopened 90,000 of them, excluding mosques in Mecca which is still struggling to keep the virus under control.
One Saudi, Riham Ahmed, a 23-year-old student from Riyadh, interviewed by Arab News, said she welcomed the reopening and that while she will follow all rules and guidelines and take extra precautions, she’s ready to resume her normal life.
“I’m taking all the preventive measures, putting (on) my face mask and staying away from crowded places, but I have to meet people and go outside, I can’t afford more time of isolation at home,” Ahmed said.
