His Excellency the Acting Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs, Mr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, has approved the health conditions that must be met in workers" accommodations , as part of the precautionary measures taken by the Ministry to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the Kingdom.
This regulation comes in implementation of the Royal Decree, which stipulates that the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control (Weqaya) update the health requirements regulation for workers" housing within the urban area, to comply with the precautionary measures to confront the emerging coronavirus pandemic in the Kingdom.
Site requirements
The updated regulations, which include requirements for the site, building, its facilities and equipment, precautionary measures that comply with the requirements for combating the Coronavirus, and provisions for monitoring the implementation of these requirements, aim to provide suitable healthy housing for workers.
The site requirements included obtaining approval from the relevant municipality for the construction or rental of workers' accommodation; ensuring it does not cause harm to neighbors; not being adjacent to family residences if designated for single men; being located on a main road surrounding the neighborhood and at least 500 meters away from girls' schools, student dormitories, and similar facilities; providing natural health benefits such as sunlight and clean air free from dust, gases, smoke, and unpleasant odors; displaying a sign at the entrance of the accommodation containing information about the company or institution employing the workers, such as its name and address; being compatible with current and future land uses in the area and away from cemeteries; having elevated ground that is not prone to flooding; having access to electricity and potable water; being within the urban area; and being far from workplaces that emit air pollutants such as gases, dust, smoke, and waste. Liquid or solid, or anything that causes annoyance, noise, or harm to health, and care should be taken not to build residences in the path of prevailing winds passing through workplaces.
Saudi Building Code application
Regarding the general requirements, the regulation stressed that the building must meet the requirements and conditions of the Saudi Building Code, and that the building must be made of materials commonly used for this purpose, such as bricks, reinforced concrete, aluminum, fiberglass and the like, in terms of quality and appearance. The use of any material containing asbestos is strictly prohibited. Suspended metal ceilings may be used, provided that they are smooth and easy to clean, or painted with washable oil paint. Floors must be made of materials that are easy to clean, impermeable to water, smooth, non-absorbent and non-slip, and not affected by industrial detergents or acids used in general cleaning, and must have flat surfaces free of cracks and holes.
Safety and health requirements
The building and all its facilities must be well ventilated. Artificial ventilation is used in hot areas, in addition to natural ventilation. The accommodation must be equipped with the necessary devices to monitor and measure air quality. The kitchen and its equipment must comply with what is stated in the list of health requirements that must be available in restaurants, kitchens, fast food outlets and the like. The kitchen must have an independent warehouse for food items, in which the necessary health requirements for transporting, storing and handling food items are observed, such as temperature, humidity level and storage method, and it must be equipped with appropriate refrigerators and freezers, and it must meet security and safety conditions, in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Defense.
Kitchen staff requirements
Regarding the requirements for kitchen workers, the regulations stipulate that workers must have valid health certificates proving they are free from infectious diseases, and that all workers must be immunized against typhoid and meningitis, and any other immunizations deemed necessary by the competent health authorities. It is also important that all workers maintain a good appearance, take full care of their personal hygiene and keep their nails trimmed regularly, and remove any worker from the kitchen who shows any symptoms of illness, or whose hands have blisters, wounds, or skin ulcers, or who has been in contact with a patient suffering from an infectious disease.
Precautions inside dining halls
The person in charge of the work must also inform the competent health authorities in the event that any infectious disease appears in any of his workers, and equip the food service hall with a sufficient number of tables and chairs that can be washed and sterilized, with only one chair placed at each table, and a distance of (2 meters) between each table and another, and provide a sufficient number of water coolers, and it is preferable that the cups used for drinking be of the type that is used once, and secure tightly sealed containers to collect food waste and dispose of it first.
Emergency room and equipment
The regulations stipulate that the accommodation must have at least one first aid room for emergencies, provided by the accommodation operator and staffed by a qualified health practitioner, containing first aid supplies and rapid diagnostic testing devices, such as thermometers. In the event that there is no mosque near the accommodation, a suitable place for prayer must be provided that can accommodate worshippers, and congregational prayers in the mosque must be suspended until the precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, or any other precautionary measures, are completed.
The regulations also stipulated the allocation of units for male workers and others for female workers, with each being separate from the other, whether all housing units are owned by the employer or rented, and that each worker be allocated an area of 12 square meters of housing, so that physical distancing is appropriate and does not lead to the transmission of any infection.
The regulation stressed that if the workers" accommodations are rented, the conditions mentioned in these regulations shall apply to them. The employer must also commit to providing the health conditions in the accommodations that he provides for his workers, in accordance with what is mentioned in this regulation, and to housing them in the workers" residential complexes if they are available.
Creating sterilization rooms in workers' accommodations
The updated regulations stipulated some precautionary measures to limit the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic, including: establishing a sterilization room and adopting it as the sole entrance and exit for all visitors to the residence, sterilizing all workers' full uniforms through this room, installing sterilization devices inside all workers' buses for use after boarding the buses, and the external entrance doors of the residence must be opened and closed automatically, and equipped with an air curtain, in addition to providing separate isolation rooms, allocated for workers who have recently arrived from outside the Kingdom, or workers who show any signs of illness.
Disinfectants and sterilization tools are provided in all residential facilities, as well as disposable protective masks and gloves. A contract is made with a specialized cleaning company to collect waste within the residential area and transport it to the municipal landfill. A contract is made with a specialized company to combat health pests within the residential area. In addition, the temperature of individuals is checked periodically using a laser thermometer after sterilization. A schedule is provided that shows the disinfection of surfaces with disinfectants on a regular basis, and a schedule is provided to follow up on the cleaning and disinfection of toilets and their taps, and sinks that operate using sensor technology.
Penalties for violators
The regulation affirmed that, without prejudice to any more severe penalty, the employer – whether a natural or legal person – shall be punished with a financial fine of no less than five thousand riyals and no more than ten thousand riyals, when any of the health conditions for workers“ housing within the city are violated, with the violation being corrected. The fine shall be multiplied according to the number of violations, and the maximum limit for the violation may be doubled in the event of its repeated commission, as approved by a decision of the esteemed Council of Ministers in 1422 AH, and amended by a decision of the Council in 1437 AH.
It is worth noting that these conditions apply to all workers" accommodations inside and outside the urban area, and the committees formed in the regions and governorates, and whomever the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs sees fit, are responsible for monitoring the implementation of these conditions in all workers" accommodations inside and outside the urban area, in all cities of the Kingdom.
The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs called upon all its affiliated bodies, other government agencies, and the private sector to implement these conditions in order to preserve public health.
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