Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Aug 08, 2025

Weqaya updates protocols for souks, malls, restaurants

Weqaya updates protocols for souks, malls, restaurants

Saudi Arabia’s Public Health Authority (Weqaya) announced on Thursday the updated health protocols for commercial centers, markets (souks), malls, restaurants and cafes as part of measures to stem the spread of coronavirus, especially the mutated variant of Omicron.
Regarding the preventive protocols for restaurants and cafes, Weqaya stressed that social distancing measures shall be applied at spaces for receiving orders and waiting of customers with a distance of one and a half meters between individuals.

Members of the same family are treated as one individual and social distancing is not required among them. The authority also stipulated that eating is allowed inside restaurants.

According to the updated protocols, customers are required to scan the barcode through the Tawakkalna application to automatically verify their immunization status before entering the premises of the facilities.The updated protocols stipulate restricting entry to only those individuals who have completed the vaccination with immune status on the app. However, there will be an exemption for the groups who are excluded from taking the vaccine on health grounds and that will be ascertained through the Tawakkalna app.

The employees of the facilities are responsible for ensuring that customers scan the barcode before their entry. However, small stores in the retail sector such as grocery stores and barber shops are obligated to verify immunization status of consumers through the app manually.

The updated protocols defined public places as those spaces that are not covered and not surrounded by borders such as public parks and walkways that are open to all and that do not have any entry requirements or arrangements from any organized or supervisory party.

However, sports stadiums, and venues of events, including those halls with the capacity to hold 500 or more people at a time -regardless of the actual attendance- will not be included in the category of public places.

Weqaya said that the working hours in markets, commercial centers and malls will be according to the regulations that were in force before the outbreak of coronavirus, unless directives are issued to the contrary. The authority revealed that more details about the updated protocols are available on its website.

It also instructed that shisha shops are not allowed to operate indoors but only outdoors. It is noteworthy that the Ministry of Interior announced that wearing masks and maintaining social distancing are mandatory in all indoor and outdoor facilities effective from 7:00 am on Thursday.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
×