Riyadh, May 6: A Saudi royal has passed away, Spa reported on the first day of Ramadan (May 6).
According to a statement issued by the Royal Court of Saudi Arabia, Her Royal Highness Princess Hessa bint Saud bin Abdullah bin Saud bin Faisal Al Saud passed away.
She was the mother of His Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Faisal bin Salman bin Mohammed Al Saud.
The funeral prayers will be held today after the Asr prayer at Prince Turki bin Abdul Aziz Mosque in Riyadh, Spa added.
Dubai, Apr 28: Riyadh municipality has announced 13 requirements to restore commercial activity in malls starting Wednesday (April 29), in accordance with the government’s coronavirus precautionary measures.
The requirements include: the continued closure of all entertainment and playing areas inside malls, and not allowing the entry of children under the age of 15.
The municipality requires all malls to ensure the availability of medical examination and sterilization teams to measure the temperature of all individuals entering the mall at all entrances throughout opening hours, prevent any person with a temperature exceeding 38 degrees Celsius from entering, remove all chairs and benches in the corridors, and provide masks and gloves for visitors at the entrances.
All malls are to have security personnel stationed at all entrances to ensure that visitors are wearing masks.
The municipality also requires all malls to sterilize the entire facility every 24 hours, allocate rooms for medical isolation when there is any suspicion of an individual being infected with COVID-19, ensure the presence of a sufficient number of security personnel, and carry out regular rounds to verify full compliance, and suspend the valet service.
It also called for malls to put up explanatory signs of the guidelines to ensure that everyone understands the precautionary measures.
Malls should rely on the use of escalators and stairs for movement between floors, and in the event they are not available, only two people are allowed to ride the elevator at a time.
Revised curfew
Saudi Arabia had revised on April 21 its coronavirus curfew timings for the holy month of Ramadan, allowing residents in all areas and cities not currently under a 24-horu lockdown to go out between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
However, areas under a complete lockdown will only be allowed to go out for essential needs, such as grocery shopping or medical visits, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Residents in these areas must stay within their neighborhoods
A 24-hour lockdown was previously imposed on the cities of Riyadh, Tabuk, Dammam, Dhahran, and Hofuf and throughout the governorates of Jeddah, Taif, Qatif, and Khobar.
The government had imposed a full lockdown on the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah as well. Other cities and governorates had a curfew implemented from 3 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily.
Mount Arafat, July 30: Muslim pilgrims converged Thursday on Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat for the climax of this year's hajj, the smallest in modern times and a sharp contrast to the massive crowds of previous years.
A tight security cordon has been erected all around the foot of the rocky hill outside Mecca, also known as Jabal al-Rahma or Mount of Mercy.
Pilgrims, donning masks and observing social distancing, were brought in buses from neighbouring Mina, state television showed, as Saudi authorities impose measures to prevent a coronavirus outbreak.
They were subject to temperature checks and attended a sermon -- which state media said was translated into 10 languages -- before they set off on the climb to the summit for hours of Koran recitals and prayers to atone for their sins.
The scene was strikingly different to last year's ritual when a sea of pilgrims ascended Mount Arafat, marshalled by tens of thousands of stewards in a bid to prevent any crushes.
After sunset prayers, pilgrims will make their way down Mount Arafat to Muzdalifah, another holy site where they will sleep under the stars to prepare for the final stage of hajj, the symbolic "stoning of the devil".
It takes place on Friday and also marks the beginning of Eid al-Adha, the festival of sacrifice.
The hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam and a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime, is usually one of the world's largest religious gatherings.
But only up to 10,000 people already residing in the kingdom will participate in this year's ritual, compared with 2019's gathering of some 2.5 million from around the world.
"You are not our guests but those of God, the custodian of the two holy mosques (Saudi Arabia's King Salman) and the nation," Hajj Minister Mohammad Benten said in a video released by the media ministry on Wednesday.
Security cordon
A security cordon has been thrown around the holy sites to prevent any security breaches, an interior ministry spokesman said.
Riyadh faced strong criticism in 2015 when some 2,300 worshippers were killed in the deadliest stampede in the gathering's history.
But this year, those risks are greatly reduced by the much smaller crowd.
The pilgrims have all been tested for the virus, and foreign journalists were barred from this year's hajj, usually a huge global media event.
As part of the rites completed over five days in the holy city of Mecca and its surroundings, the pilgrims converged on Mount Arafat after spending the night in Mina.
A district of Mecca, Mina sits in a narrow valley surrounded by rocky mountains, and is transformed each year into a vast encampment for pilgrims.
They began the hajj on Wednesday with their first "tawaf", the circumambulation of the Kaaba, a large structure in Mecca’s Grand Mosque towards which Muslims around the world pray.
The Kaaba is draped in a black cloth embroidered in gold with Koranic verses and known as the kiswa, which is changed each year during the pilgrimage.
Pilgrims were brought inside the mosque in small batches, walking along paths marked on the floor, in sharp contrast to the normal sea of humanity that swirls around the Kaaba during hajj.
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The Tawakkalna application developed by Saudi Arabia's National Information Centre to processes requests for movement permits during the curfew to curb the spread of the virus has become a major helplnine for past few weeks.
The application developed through the close cooperation between the Ministry of Health and the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) was launched on May 4.
According to Saudi Telecom Group, it handles 20,000 calls daily through the Tawakkalna platform by dedicating a call centre of 600 employees through its Contact Centre Company (CCC).
The Tawakkalna app can be used to issue e-permits for a selected group of government and private sector employees who were exempted from the curfew, and individuals who have medical appointments as well as couriers.
Tawakkalna has features for the service of citizens and residents, for ensuring their safety and comfort that would contribute to facilitating the access of authorized persons to travel permits.
The official page about Tawakkalna on Twitter, says: “You must always keep in mind that pinpointing your exact location of residence is the only way for you to benefit from the app’s range of services and permits.”
The app will also provide the latest alerts and medical news issued by the Ministry of Health about the virus as well as about its spread, ways to prevent it and movement permits.
Tawakkalna can be used for self-disclosure for people who show signs of coronavirus infection and for requesting ambulance service and other important services for the community.
Through the app users can apply for a one-hour permit for a walk in the neighborhood on a daily basis, thereby encouraging walking during this period of lockdown.
sir,
i am facing problem for receiving OTP code during registration for my family. i am unable to get OTP code.
please assist.
Entering date of birth is the big problem is the big problem of this app.
Dob entering problem
Hi,
I am trying to register in the Tawakkalna app, but it keeps on throwing error. Any idea?
thanx
B I
R8NEB24
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Inna Lilllahi Wa Inna ilayhi Rajioon May Almighty Allah grant her and all og Jannathul Firdous
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