Saudi Arabia to make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory

Friday, 7 May 2021 14:03

By REUTERS

A medical worker administers a dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at the first drive-through vaccination center in the Saudi capital Riyadh, on March 4, 2021. Fayez Nureldine / AFP

All public and private sector workers wishing to attend a workplace in Saudi Arabia will be required to have taken a COVID-19 vaccination, the human resources ministry said on Friday.

"Receiving a coronavirus vaccine will be a mandatory condition for male and female workers to attend workplaces in all sectors (public, private, non-profit)," the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development said on Twitter.

It urged workplaces to start preparations to ensure all employees receive a vaccination.

"The ministry will soon clarify the mechanisms of the decision and its implementation date," it said.

More from International News

US military targets IS in Syria strikes

The US military said on Saturday it carried out multiple strikes in Syria targeting ISIS as part of an operation that Washington launched in December after an attack on American personnel.
Israeli fire kills three people in Gaza, tension rises

Israeli fire killed at least three Palestinians in two separate incidents across Gaza, local health authorities said, as tension rises over continued violence.
Tens of thousands protest in Minneapolis over fatal ICE shooting

Tens of thousands of people marched through Minneapolis on Saturday to decry the fatal shooting of a woman by a US immigration agent, part of more than 1,000 rallies planned nationwide over the weekend against the federal government's deportation drive.
One dead in Australian bush fires

At least one person has died in Australia's southeast where bushfires raging for days have razed buildings, cut power to thousands of homes and burned swathes of bushland, police said on Sunday.