As Saudi Arabia moved to phase 2 of the gradual easing of coronavirus curfew regulations in place from May 31 to June 20, the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs has emphasised the need to strictly comply with precautionary measures and preventive protocols at retail and wholesale stores, commercial centres and malls in Kingdom.

As per the regulations, shoppers must maintain a two-metre distance from each other, with rooms for instant isolation of suspected cases to be arranged in malls.

Trying on clothes or testing perfume are forbidden.

Retail hours for shoppers will be the same as the curfew relaxation hours, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m, during the second phase.

However, shops will be allowed to continue their work during curfew hours through delivery apps and transporting parcels and goods, or through their vehicles until midnight.

The rules emphasis the need to check shoppers' temperature at the entrances and not allowing entry to those whose temperature exceeds 38 degrees Celsius.

Businesses are also required to take the temperatures of their employees daily and not allow entry to employees from other agencies with a body temperature of more than 38 degrees Celsius. Employees who are vulnerable to infection shall not be allowed to come to work and musty work from home.

All customers must wear face masks or any type of covering of their nose and mouth.

There should be visible floor stickers to arrange queues in crowded places such as entrances, exits, elevators and toilets.

Floor stickers must be introduced in shops to enforce spacing between employees, and between employees and customers in crowded workplaces such as customer service offices.

The number of people a shop can accommodate will be determined in the pattern of one person per nine square metres of the internal space of the store.

The rules also prevent trying on clothes, testing cosmetics, and make-up products.

A social distance of 1.5 metres to two metres shall be maintained at all times between shoppers or employees in the crowded areas of the store such as entrance, customer service counters and exits.

The latest regulations also encourages people to avoid using cash and instead facilitate payment through electronic points of sale, online or mobile or card payments.

They also obligate the cleaning of facilities and all surfaces that employees or customers touch every two hours, and disinfection of shopping carts and baskets after each use.

There should be hand sanitisers at the entrances of shopping areas and common toilets for disinfection after each use, and all public touch screens should not be used at the moment. Materials that workers share internally, such as pens used to fill worksheets, and common devices such as drinking water coolers, should be disposed of.

The ministry emphasised that prayer rooms, children's play areas, and fitting rooms will remain closed.

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