All public and private sector workers wishing to attend a workplace in Saudi Arabia will be required to have taken a COVID-19 vaccination, the human resources ministry said on Friday.
The ministry did not say when the new rule would take effect. “Receiving a coronavirus vaccine will be a mandatory condition for male and female workers to attend workplaces in all sectors (public, private, non-profit),” the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development said on Twitter.
“The ministry will soon clarify the mechanisms of the decision and its implementation date,” it said.
Saudi Arabia has taken a progressive, proactive approach from the beginning in curbing the Coronavirus and ensuring the health and safety of its citizens. Strict rules and regulations in place from the outset and an elevated social awareness of the danger of the coronavirus continued to pay dividends in stopping the spread of the virus in Saudi Arabia.
Recently, the IMF cited Saudi Arabia’s aggressive effort to fight the spread of the Coronavirus as a reason that its economy was in a good position to recover in 2021 and beyond.
Saudi Arabia recorded 1,090 new coronavirus cases and 14 deaths over the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry reported on Thursday.
Officials in the Kingdom have made difficult and often expensive decisions to prioritize the fight against the virus. When Saudi Arabia began to show signs of a surge in new cases, officials implemented lockdowns in cities and the imposition of some of the strictest curfews globally. It also all but cancelled the Hajj pilgrimage last year. Recent reports say this year’s Hajj may have limits on visitors, allowing only those vaccinated to attend.
