Jeddah a scene of activity as Saudi Arabia starts plan to ease Covid-19 restrictions
Thousands of residents in Jeddah headed for the city’s seafront, malls, coffee shops and restaurants almost as soon as Saudi Arabia’s coronavirus restrictions were eased at 6am on Thursday.
All areas of the kingdom except Makkah started a threestage lifting of the nationwide stay-at-home order that was imposed in late March to contain the outbreak.
In the first phase, movement in public was allowed from 6am to 3pm, with people told to maintain social distancing norms and wear face masks.
However, people who wanted to exercise were permitted to go outdoors at any time, as long as they remained within five kilometres of their home.
All roads leading to Jeddah’s corniche were clogged with people and vehicles on Thursday, with young people shouting and singing in their cars and long queues of customers forming outside restaurants and coffee shops.
However, there were fears that some people were ignoring the rules on social distancing and wearing face masks, raising concerns that authorities might be forced to reimpose restrictions.
The size of the crowds surprised some Jeddah residents.
“I hope we will not go back to where we started with the lockdown,” said Abdullah Aoun, a writer and presenter on Saudi Radio.
“People, I’m sure, are claiming they’re keeping their distance from other people.
“But based on what I saw this morning through the images I received, I don’t believe so.”
Saudi authorities have reported more than 83,000 infections, more than 58,000 recoveries and 480 deaths among coronavirus patients.
“I am now at the King Road on my way to the seafront with my family … it is unbelievable,” Hamad Al Aishiwan, an employee of the kingdom’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, told The National.
Images of vehicles parked bumper-to-bumper along the seafront were posted on social media platforms, which also quickly filled with videos of heavy traffic in cities across the kingdom.
“Be aware and don’t leave your home if you don’t need to leave because we are still in a dangerous position and we have to behave like humans,” Mansour Albishi, a resident of the eastern Gulf coast city of Jubail, tweeted.
In the second phase, which starts today, movement will be permitted from 6am until 8pm and all mosques will be reopened for prayers, except in Makkah.
In the third step, the Saudi government plans to lift all restrictions from June 21, including those in place in Makkah.