RIYADH — Saudi Arabia has implemented an earlier curfew start time in the city of Dammam and the governorates of Al-Qatif and Taif as part of the Kingdom’s measures to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported quoting an official source at the Ministry of Interior.

The new curfew time, effective Friday, will start at 3 p.m. instead of the previously announced 7 p.m.

The official said, curfew exemptions still apply to those in vital public and private sectors such as security, military and media. Those who work in health services are also excluded from the curfew.

The Kingdom imposed quarantine on Al-Qatif earlier last month. The temporary suspension of entry and exit was extended from the city’s Saihat district in the south to Safwa in the north, according to the Interior Ministry.

Saudi Arabia also enforced a 24-hour daily curfew in Makkah and Madinah on Thursday until further notice. — SG/SPA