RIYADH - Wearing mask is mandatory in crowded open areas as well as at venues of events and activities, the Ministry of Health Spokesman Dr. Muhammad Al-Abdel Ali has said. Addressing the daily press conference to brief on the latest developments on coronavirus here on Sunday, he stated that precautionary measures such as physical distancing and wearing mask shall be complied with at indoor areas like mosques where there are no arrangements to check the health status on the Tawakkalna application. The spokesman emphasized that taking two doses of coronavirus vaccine is not the justification for not wearing a mask. He also underlined the need to take a booster dose to enhance the immunity six months after receiving the second dose. Dr. Al-Abdel Ali said the pandemic is still hitting the world, as the number of infections has exceeded 265 million. "There has been a decrease in critical cases in Saudi Arabia, but we must be careful in the number of cases, as the Kingdom saw a slight increase in new COVID-19 cases as on Sunday, with 35 new infections recorded over the past 24 hours," he said while pointing out that Saudi Arabia has administered more than 47 million doses of the vaccines till to date since the start of the national vaccination drive in December 2020.
