The GEA said that the ban on children entering recreational activities held in closed places will continue Saudi Arabia on Thursday reported nine more COVID-19-related deaths JEDDAH: Children below the age of 12 are exempt from having coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines and are free allowed to enter recreational events and activities in open spaces, the Saudi General Entertainment Authority (GEA) has said. This comes in coordination with the Public Health Authority (Weqaya), and within the framework of the GEA’s role in organizing entertainment events in accordance with the precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus. Children, however, must be accompanied by immunized adults, should be free from flu-like symptoms (fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat), and their health status in the “Tawakkalna” application must confirm they are “not infected” and have “not come into contact with an infected person.” The GEA said that the ban on children entering recreational activities held in closed places will continue, and their entry will be limited to those who have been either immunized with at least one dose or have recovered from the virus. The authority had previously issued decisions stipulating that entry to entertainment events be restricted to those who were immune. It also limited attendance to 40 percent of the total capacity in open spaces, emphasizing the precautionary measures of social distancing, mask-wearing, and providing sanitizers in various locations of the event. Meanwhile, the Saudi infectious disease expert, Ahmed Al-Hakawi, cited a Singaporean study which concluded that immunized individuals infected with the COVID-19 delta variant can recover from the virus faster than the unvaccinated. Al-Hakawi, who is also a hospital epidemiologist in Riyadh, said that the study — conducted on more than 200 people infected with the variant in Singapore — found that faster recoveries among the vaccinated result in shorter isolation periods and reduced transmission of the virus to others. The study included 71 people who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and 130 others who were not. Saudi Arabia on Thursday reported nine more COVID-19-related deaths, taking the overall toll to 8,366. There were 751 new cases, meaning that 535,927 people in the country have now contracted the disease. A total of 10,182 cases remained active, of which 1,407 patients are in critical condition. Of the newly recorded cases, 147 were in Makkah region, 111 in the Eastern Province, 107 in Riyadh region, and 47 in Madinah region. In addition, the Ministry of Health said 1,389 patients had recovered from the disease, increasing the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 517,379. The region with the highest recovery rate is Makkah at 384, followed by Riyadh at 237 and Eastern Province at 162. Saudi Arabia had so far conducted 26,008,288 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, with 93,481 carried out in the past 24 hours. Testing hubs and treatment centers set up throughout the country have dealt with hundreds of thousands of people since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Among them, Taakad (make sure) centers provide COVID-19 testing for those who show no or only mild symptoms or believe they have come into contact with an infected individual. Tetamman (rest assured) clinics offer treatment and advice to those with virus symptoms such as fever, loss of taste and smell, and breathing difficulties. Appointments for both services can be made via the ministry’s Sehhaty app. Meanwhile, 30,719,231 people in the country have received a jab against COVID-19, including 1,526,763 who are elderly. About 58.56 percent of the population have received a first dose, while 29.68 percent had completed both doses. At this rate, 70 percent of the population is expected to have completed both doses by Oct. 9, 2021.