Saudi police arrest 121 women at wedding for breaking Covid-19 restrictions

Police arrested 121 women in Saudi Arabia last week for violating measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 by attending a wedding.

The women were arrested in a wedding hall in the southern Jazan border region, according to regional police spokesman Major Naif Abdulrahman.

He said disciplinary action had been taken, while the organiser and attendees of the wedding were handed penalties.

#الصحة⁩ تعلن عن تسجيل (1320) حالة إصابة جديدة بفيروس كورونا (كوفيد-19)، وتسجيل (17) حالات وفيات رحمهم الله، وتسجيل (873) حالة تعافي ليصبح إجمالي عدد الحالات المتعافية (427,462) حالة ولله الحمد. pic.twitter.com/UYOkEVO5P1

— و ز ا ر ة ا لـ صـ حـ ة السعودية (@SaudiMOH) May 26, 2021

Last month, Saudi authorities introduced harsh fines and prison sentences of up to five years for anyone who intentionally spreads the coronavirus and could pay a fine of as much as $266,000.

Expatriates who are found guilty of breaking the rules will be deported and banned from entering Saudi Arabia again, the kingdom's Public Prosecution said.

The kingdom recorded 14 new Covid-19 deaths on Tuesday, raising the total number of fatalities to 7,278.

The health ministry confirmed 444,780 people have contracted the disease in total in the country as of Wednesday.