204 businesses shut in Mecca for COVID-19 violations
Crackdown upped to expose violators of public health rules in the holy city
Cairo: Municipal authorities in the Saudi holy city of Mecca have shut down 204 businesses over the past week for violations related to health measures against the novel coronavirus, an official has said.
The shuttered stores include 65 businesses that had violated COVID-19 precautions and 139 others for ignoring health rules, the head of the region's Municipal Affairs Abdullah Bin Khamis added.
Municipal teams carried out 1,954 inspection tours of commercial activities related to public health in Mecca last week, according to the city's municipality.
"Inspection tours have been intensified in order to verify workers' compliance with hygiene and public safety rules as well as the fitness of meat on sale for human consumption," he added.
"Generally, the campaign aims at stopping transgressions, infringing regulations and levying municipal fines on violators," he added.
The official urged members of the public to report their proposals or municipal violations to the hotline 940 for legal action.
Saudi Arabia has recently relaxed some virus-related restrictions, except in Mecca, which remains under a health lockdown.