Saudi Gazette report

ABHA — Dozens of people have been arrested in the Asir region for violating isolation and quarantine instructions, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday quoting Lt. Col. Zaid Al-Dabbash, the media spokesman for police in the region.

In a statement, the police spokesman said that 28 were taken into custody for violating the instructions after they were confirmed to be infected with COVID-19.

Some of the accused, who recently came from abroad, violated institutional quarantine instructions, he added.

According to the spokesman all preliminary legal procedures have been taken against them for their referral to the competent authority for punitive measures.

In Saudi Arabia, people who violate COVID-19 quarantine measures face a fine of up to SR200,000 and a jail term of up to two years or both.

The penalty is doubled if the violation is repeated.

If the violator is an expatriate, he or she faces deportation from Saudi Arabia with a life-long entry ban after the penalty imposed against him or her has been implemented.