By Leen Alfaisal

RIYADH — All streets and thoroughfares in big Saudi cities have emptied as the curfew implemented by authorities due to the coronavirus pandemic comes into force, videos from across the Kingdom showed on Tuesday.

The biggest cities in the Kingdom, including Makkah, Madinah, Khobar, Riyadh, Tabuk, and Jeddah are shown to be empty of residents, with police patrols supervising the implementation of the curfew.

All those who violate the curfew implemented from 7 p.m. until 6 a.m. for the next 21 days will be fined SR10,000 ($2,663) and could face jail time if they repeatedly break the law, the Kingdom’s Ministry of Interior announced on Monday.

Saudi Arabia on Monday reported 51 new cases of the virus, raising the total number of cases in the Kingdom to 562.

Thirty-three percent of coronavirus infections in the Kingdom is a result of people coming into direct contact with previously infected individuals, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday. -- Al Arabiya English