Saudi Arabia has restricted travel to and entry from Ethiopia, UAE, Vietnam and Afghanistan over coronavirus concerns, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Saturday.
The decision is going to be implemented from July 4. The Saudi travel ban will apply to anyone who has been in those four countries within the last 14 days, it said. However, Saudi citizens returning before Sunday will be exempted.
Saudi Arabia Imposes Travel Ban On Three Countries, Including UAEhttps://t.co/4WcOEK1gQm
— BOL News English (@BOLNewsEnglish) July 3, 2021
Saudi Interior Ministry stated that the decision was made “because of the growing number of cases of the coronavirus and the changing nature of the virus.”
Saudi travel ban comes after UAE
A United Arab Emirates (UAE) ban on entry from India, South Africa, and Nigeria remains in place, the federal aviation authority said on Sunday after Dubai had announced it would ease entry restrictions from those countries.
Dubai, a business and tourism hub, is the most populous of the UAE’s seven emirates. Throughout the pandemic, the UAE’s seven emirates have set some of their own Covid-19 policies.
In a notice to airmen on Sunday, the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) referenced a June 21 GCAA document stating entry from 13 countries, including Pakistan, was banned due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Read more: UAE airline ‘Etihad Airways’ extends ban on Pakistani travelers
Dubai had said on June 19 that an entry ban on those who in the past 14 days had visited India, Nigeria, and South Africa would ease from June 23.
Under the changes, entry would be permitted to UAE residents in India who were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, anyone in South Africa who was fully vaccinated, and those in Nigeria who had tested negative for coronavirus in the past 48 hours.
A GCAA representative on Sunday said those traveling from India were still banned from entering the UAE but deferred further comment to the Dubai government. Dubai’s media office did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
GVS News Desk with inputs from agencies.