Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia Private Sector to ‘Work from Home’ for 15 Days

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development instructed on Wednesday, that the private sector establishments are to suspend work for 15 days, and instead activate remote work procedures, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

Vital infrastructure sectors such as electricity, water and communications have been exempted.

Health and food services personnel have also been exempted from this rule, according to the report.
Of the sector that need physical man power for operations can be no more than 40 percent of the total number of staff, including those in vital or sensitive sectors such as electricity, water and communications — must reduce the number of workers in their offices to the bare minimum.

Certain Precautionary measures set by the Ministry of Health must be followed:

• At offices, and staff accommodation, with more than 50 workers, an area at the entrance must be provided where temperatures can be taken and symptoms checked.
• Employers must also set up a mechanism for workers to report any symptoms, such as high temperature, coughing or shortness of breath, or contact they have had with infected individuals or people who recently returned from other countries without following proper Ministry of Health quarantine procedures.
• Inside offices, a safe amount of space between employees must be maintained at all times
• All health clubs and nurseries provided by employers must close.
• Pregnant women and new mothers, people suffering from respiratory diseases, those with immune-system problems or chronic conditions, cancer patients and employees above the age of 55 are to be given 14 days compulsory paid leave, which will not be deducted from their annual entitlement.

Private sector establishments that are unable to comply with the directive must submit their requests to the authority that supervises them, the ministry added. Companies can also submit inquiries about the mechanism of remote work to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, queries on health measures to the Ministry of Health.

The measures comes as the kingdom confirmed 38 new cases of the virus in the past 24 hours to reach 171.