Dubai: A total of 93 persons, who had tested positive for COVID-19, were arrested for breaching quarantine rules in two cities in Saudi Arabia where authorities have intensified efforts to limit the spread of the disease.
They included 68 coronavirus patients, who were apprehended in the holy region of Mecca, a spokesman for the region’s police said.
“Disciplinary procedures have been taken in preparation for completing measures to apply penalties against them by authorities,” the official added.
Twenty-five other patients were also arrested in Saudi Arabia’s central region of Al Qassim on similar grounds, according to a local police official. The arrests are the latest made in a crackdown on violators of the anti-virus isolation regulations in the kingdom.
According to Saudi law, violations of quarantine rules are punishable by a maximum fine of SR200,000 or jailing of up to two years or both penalties. Repeat offenders face double punishment.
If the violator is non-Saudi, he/she is punished by deportation from the kingdom and barred from re-entry after carrying out the penalty ordered over the offence.
Saudi Arabia so far has confirmed a total of 506,126 virus cases and 8,035 related deaths.
