Following the outbreak of coronavirus, countries around the world on Saturday have been closing borders, imposing strict entry and quarantining people in efforts to restrict the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
Amongst these, the number of COVID cases in Saudi Arabia lately jumped to 62. As a result, the kingdom extended a travel ban to 14 countries. Earlier, the country had banned travel to five countries – France, Germany, Spain, Turkey, and Oman. On March 10th, another nine countries were added to the list including the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Italy, South Korea, and Syria. As of March 14th, the decision expanded the number of countries included in the travel ban list to 53.
The Saudi government said that it will be suspending the entry to those coming from the above countries and entry to those who were in those countries within 14 days before they arrive in the Kingdom. However, the government also permits Saudi nationals and citizens of those countries with valid Saudi residency visas within 72 hours to return to the Kingdom before the travel suspension comes into effect. Moreover, the Saudi government also announced it will impose a fine of up to 500,000 riyals on those who fail to disclose complete health-related information at the country’s entry points.
