CAIRO  - Qatar's interior ministry announced on Thursday that wearing masks will be mandatory to go outside starting Sunday, and those who do not comply will be fined up to 200,000 riyals ($53,000).

Violators could also be jailed up to three years, or either of those punishments, according to a statement on the ministry's Twitter account.

The statement added that the only exception will be if the person is alone driving in a vehicle.

Qatar reported 1,733 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours for a total of 28,272 cases and a total of 14 deaths.

($1 = 3.7565 riyals)

(Reporting by Hesham Abdul Khalek; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) ((Hesham.AbdulKhalek@thomsonreuters.com;))