Circular to airlines stipulates that they must confirm status of their passengers before boarding Kingdom on Monday recorded 6 COVID-19 deaths, 63 new infections and 71 recoveries JEDDAH: The Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation has issued a circular to all airlines operating in the Kingdom’s airports, including private aviation, regarding procedures for verifying the immunization status of expatriates before they board flights to Saudi Arabia. The circular stipulated two ways for expatriate travelers to verify their eligibility, either by showing their immunization status in the “Tawakkalna” application or by submitting a report proving immunization in the Kingdom through the “Qudoom” platform. The authority stressed that legal action will be taken against violators. In an earlier press conference about the developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, Health Ministry spokesman Dr. Mohammed Al-Abd Al-Aly said that the epidemiological indicators in the Kingdom and the world continue to decline. He noted that the world is close to vaccinating nearly 6 billion people. As the Kingdom approaches the celebration of its National Day, Al-Abd Al-Aly urged everyone to complete their two doses and continue to adhere to precautionary measures. Saudi Arabia on Monday reported six more COVID-19-related deaths, taking the overall toll to 8,667. FASTFACTS FASTFACTS Saudi Arabia reported 63 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday. The death toll has risen to 8,667 with six more virus-related fatalities. There were 63 new cases, meaning that 546,612 people in the country have contracted the disease. A total of 2,343 cases remained active, of which 339 patients were in critical condition. Of the newly recorded cases, 15 were in Makkah region, 13 in Riyadh region, seven in the Eastern Province, and five in Madinah region. In addition, the ministry said 71 patients had recovered from the disease, increasing the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 535,602. Saudi Arabia had so far conducted 28,433,787 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, with 45,291 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, 40,967,054 people in the country have to date received a COVID-19 vaccination, including 1,639,937 people who are elderly. About 65.42 percent of the population have received the first dose, while 50.58 percent have completed both doses. At this rate, 70 percent of the population is expected to have completed both doses by Nov. 5, 2021. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce carried out 48,273 inspection tours during the past two weeks to ensure that commercial establishments and outlets in all regions of the Kingdom were adhering to precautionary measures. Authorities issued 1,143 fines for immediate violations. Municipalities in the Kingdom have also shut down multiple commercial outlets as part of their efforts to monitor compliance with health and safety measures to stop the spread of the disease. The municipality of Jeddah closed 23 facilities during 3,431 inspection tours carried out on Sunday. Authorities also issued fines to 23 other businesses. Officials have urged the public to report any suspected health breaches by phoning the 940 call center number or contacting authorities through the Balady app. The Ministry of Islamic Affairs reopened one mosque after temporarily evacuating and sterilizing it in Asir region after one person tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of mosques closed and reopened after being sterilized to 2,027 within 223 days. The coronavirus pandemic has affected over 229 million people globally and the death toll has reached around 4.70 million.