RIYADH — As part of the repatriation operation amid the coronavirus pandemic, more than 47,500 Saudi citizens on board 250 flights from 51 international destinations were brought back to the Kingdom, the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Al-Tuwayyan said during a press conference on Tuesday. Over 19,000 more citizens are expected to arrive until the end of this month with four to five flights operating daily with 60 percent seat occupancy, he added. Al-Tuwayyan said that following the royal directives to facilitate the return of the citizens wishing to return to their homeland, 85,107 citizens had sought to benefit from the ‘Awdah' (return) initiative that can be accessed on Absher platform. The operation will continue until the last Saudi wishing to come back to the Kingdom is back in the homeland, he added. Al-Tuwayyan attributed the delay in the return of some citizens to technical procedures in the host countries, including the issuance of permits. He referred to the coordination of the Kingdom's embassies with those countries to facilitate the return of stranded citizens. With regard to the return of the residents of the Kingdom, who have visas (exit/re-entry visas) and are stranded in their home countries, the spokesman said that the coordination is underway with embassies of those countries in the Kingdom for their safe return. Meanwhile, the spokesman of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) Tayseer Al-Mufarrij explained that currently there are 25 million face masks available in the Kingdom's pharmacies, with a daily production rate of 2 million face masks, produced by 9 factories. Meanwhile, there are 69 factories for sanitizers and sterilizers, with a capacity of over 3.4 million liters per week. In addition, there are three personal protective equipment factories, producing over 103 million PPE gears. He pointed out that the supervisory authorities have carried out 38,000 inspection rounds, during which 2,721 violations were registered, and 133,771 reports and enquiries were received.
