Manama: Saudi Arabia on Tuesday banned arrivals from 20 countries, including India and the UAE, to stem the spread of Covid-19.
Diplomats, medical staff and their families are exempted from the move.
The temporary suspension of entry will come into force at 9 pm on Wednesday, the state news agency SPA reported. However, they gave no indication of how long it will last.
The entry ban applies to non-Saudis from India, UAE, United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Turkey, Portugal, Brazil, Lebanon, Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia, South Africa, Argentina, and Japan.
The ban also applies to travelers who transited through any of the 20 countries in the 14 days before a a planned visit to the Kingdom.
"Saudi citizens, diplomats, health practitioners and their families coming from the mentioned countries or those who transited any of those countries during the 14 days preceding their return to the Kingdom will enter the Kingdom in accordance with the precautionary measures imposed by the Ministry of Health," the source added.
Meanwhile, not having entry permission to come to Saudi will make it difficult for Keralites waiting to be returned. Many passengers had been using Dubai as a transit hub from countries where there are no direct flights to Saudi Arabia. Prior to the ban, expats had entered Saudi via the UAE after 14 days of quarantine and covid tests. This option is now no longer available. Hundreds of Keralites, who reached the UAE to go to Saudi, will have to stay in Dubai uncertainly or return back to their home countries.
The new action comes amid a global surge in cases of COVID-19 linked to variations in the original coronavirus, and fears that vaccines being rolled out worldwide may be less effective against them.
Saudi Arabia reported 310 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, almost four times the number a month ago. Health officials in the Kingdom warned this week that stricter measures would be necessary to curb the spread of the virus if the public continued to flout regulations on social distancing and a ban on large gatherings.
Flights to and from the Kingdom was first suspended on March 14, 2020, due to the coronavirus outbreak was a pandemic. Entry to Saudi Arabia by air, land, and sea resumed on Jan. 3
Saudi Arabia had reopened its borders on Jan 4 after it had suspended international commercial flights on a rolling weekly basis from Dec 21 and extended the ban for a week on Dec 28 over fears of a new, fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus.
I
