a priority. in addition, the ministry also announced that they would be banning all social events, including funerals and weddings. on 15 march, the ministry of municipal and rural affairs further announced the closure of all shopping malls, restaurants, coffee shops, and public parks and buildings with the exception of pharmacies and supermarkets. some people have been arrested for allegedly spreading false information about the coronavirus pandemic. on 11 june, the ministry of sports announced the resumption of sports activities with training starting on 21 june and games starting after 4 august but without public attendance of fans. on march 7, 2021, restaurants, cafes, cinemas, gyms and sport centers will reopen in saudi arabia, but weddings and all social events and parties are still not allowed until further notice. on march 25, 2021, the ministry of islamic affairs, dawah, and guidance said that the lessons in mosques will continue remotely but sermons are allowed to be delivered but not for more than 10 minutes asking all mosques to undertake to all precautionary covid-19 measures to ensure the safety and health of worshipers. in july 2021, saudi arabia announced plans to impose a 3-year travel ban on citizens travelling to countries on its 'red list' under efforts to control spread of the virus. the kingdom stated that those involved will be subject to legal accountability and heavy penalties will be imposed on them. economic measures on 10 may 2020, saudi arabia announced suspension of the 1000 riyals/month cost-of-living allowance from 1 june, and an increase in the value-added tax from 5% to 15% from 1 july. the kingdom will also cut spending by 100 billion riyals (us$26,600,000,000). the measures are due to a budget deficit of us$9,000,000,000 in the first quarter of 2020, decline in oil prices, and the economic effects of the pandemic. official data reported on 30 september 2020 by reuters showed that saudi arabia's economy declined by 7% in both oil and non-oil sector in the second quarter following coronavirus pandemic. general authority for statistics said "the private sector and the government sector recorded a negative growth rate of 10.1% and 3.5%, respectively." unemployment in the kingdom also reportedly hit a record high, i.e. 15.4%. according to analysts, recovering from such a hit might be more difficult due to budget constraints as a result of declining oil prices. at the start of the pandemic, oil prices decreased to below $20 a barrel in april after saudi arabia entered an oil price war. while a truce among the world's top oil producers has pushed the price of oil up to $40 a barrel, this figure is still almost half the price of oil per barrel at the start of 2020. furthermore, oil prices are significantly lower than the $76 a barrel the international monetary fund (imf) says saudi arabia requires in order to balance its budget this year. the kingdom obtains more than three-quarters of its earnings from oil. the imf expects the saudi economy to contract by about 7 percent this year and increase growth by 3.1 percent in 2021. covid-19 vaccination programme in saudi arabia on 27 december 2020, the kingdom's ministry of health announced more than 700,000 people had registered to receive the coronavirus vaccine since the vaccination registration campaign began on 17 december. on 29 december 2020, the kingdom's health minister tawfiq al-rabiah, told al arabiya, coronavirus vaccines are set to reach all regions of saudi arabia within three weeks. on 19 january 2021 saudi arabia approved astrazeneca and also moderna vaccines for use against the coronavirus. in march 2021, saudi health minister tawfiq al-rabiah said that the kingdom will provide the vaccinations to the pharmacies for free knowing that more than 100 vaccination facilities have opened around the country. on march 9, the total of vaccination centres became 32 after opening 26 news centers by asir health affairs. on march 25, 2021, saudi arabia said that all domestic workers affiliated with recruitment firms in saudi arabia should get the vaccine. otherwise, they have to provide a weekly negative pcr test result at the expense of the employer. in april 2021, saudi arabia postponed the appointments of the second dose for covid-19 vaccines in order to make sure that more residents can receive the first dose. by april 14, saudi arabia had vaccinated 6,450,278 people. in may 2021, saudi authorities said that, starting august 2021, attending events, whether social, scientific, economic cultural or other, and entering any government or private establishment will require having the covid-19 immunization. statistics total number of confirmed cases and recoveries confirmed deaths per day