Police in Hail arrest 20 people for flouting quarantine rules 2 mosques reopened in 2 regions after being sterilized after 2 people tested positive for COVID-19 RIYADH: Saudi Arabia recorded nine new COVID-19 related deaths on Wednesday, raising the total number of fatalities to 8,366. The Ministry of Health confirmed 751 new cases reported in the Kingdom in the previous 24 hours, meaning 535,927 people have now contracted the disease. Of the total number of cases, 10,182 remain active and 1,407 in critical condition. According to the ministry, the highest number of cases were recorded in Makkah with 147, followed by the Eastern Province with 111, the capital Riyadh with 107, Asir recorded 86, and Jazan confirmed 72 cases. The health ministry also announced that 1,389 patients had recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 517,379. Over 30.5 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been administered in the Kingdom to date through 587 centers. The ministry renewed its call on the public to register with the Sehhaty app to receive the vaccine, and adhere to the measures and abide by instructions. Meanwhile, police in Hail said they arrested 20 people for flouting quarantine rules after they tested positive for COVID-19. Penalties for individuals who violate quarantine instructions include a fine of up to SR200,000 ($53,332) and/or up to two years imprisonment, and penalties are doubled for repeat offenders. If the violation was committed by an expat, they face deportation from the Kingdom and are permanently banned from reentry. The Eastern Province’s Municipality closed eight commercial establishments and issued fines to 58 others for violating the preventive measures, during 1,531 monitoring rounds carried out on Tuesday. The municipality said its call center received 23 reports of violations from the public. Jeddah Municipality said it closed 27 shops and issued 27 fines during 3,798 inspection tours on Tuesday. The Ministry of Islamic Affairs reopened two mosques in two region after temporarily evacuating and sterilizing them after two people tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of mosques closed and reopened after being sterilized to 1,988 within 186 days. The coronavirus pandemic has affected over 205 million people globally and the death toll has reached around 4.33 million.