Saudi Arabia to Impose Full Lockdown During Eid Holiday From 23-27 May

DOHA (Sputnik) - Saudi Arabia will impose a 24-hour nation-wide lockdown during the five-day Eid Al Fitr Holiday, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan and is celebrated in the kingdom on 23-27 May this year, a spokesperson of the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.

"All coronavirus-related restrictions will be in place until the end of Ramadan, full ban on movement will be imposed from 30 Ramadan to 4 Shawwal [23-27 May]," the spokesperson said, as quoted by the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

According to SPA, citizens across the Kingdom will be allowed to move freely from 09:00 am to 05:00 pm local time (06:00-14:00 GMT) before Eid Al Fitr, except for the city of Mecca that is still under full lockdown.

Saudi Arabia confirmed over 1,900 COVID-19 new cases on Tuesday, bringing the case count to 42,925. At the same time, the coronavirus-related death toll increased by nine to 264. More than 15,000 people have already recovered from the disease. The Mecca Region, with over 9,000 cases, is the most affected.