Saudi Gazette report

MANAMA — Bahrain has unveiled new stringent measures for two weeks amid the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, the Bahrain News Agency reported on Wednesday.

The new measures, which were taken by the government's executive committee during a meeting headed by Bahrain's Deputy Prime Minister Shaikh Mohammed Bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa, will come into force at 11.59 p.m. on Thursday (May 27) and will continue until June 10.

The measures, which were approved by the top government committee following recommendations from the National Medical Taskforce for Combating the Coronavirus (COVID-19), include the following:

— Closure of malls and commercial shops

— Closure of restaurants and cafes except for delivery and takeaway services only

— Closure of gyms and sports halls, swimming pools, beaches, and recreational centers

— Closure of cinemas

— Ban on events and conferences

— Ban on attending sporting events

— Closure of salons, barbershops and beauty parlors

— Barring social gatherings in homes

— Work-from-home policy to cover 70% of Government employees

— Suspending in-person learning at schools and higher educational institutions, kindergartens, rehabilitation centers, nurseries and training centers, with the exception of attendance for international examinations

— Current travel procedures to Bahrain to remain in effect

However, the government committee decided that the following activities can continue:

— Hypermarkets, supermarkets, and grocery stores

— All bakeries

— Fuel and gas filling stations

— Private health clinics, with the exception of some health services for which a circular is being issued by the National Authority for Regulating Health Professions and Services

— Banks and currency exchange services

— Administrative offices of institutions and companies, whose activities are not directly customer-facing

— Import and Export distributors

—Automobile repair shops

— Business operating in the process, construction and maintenance sector

— Factories

— Enterprises operating in the telecommunication sector

— Pharmacies