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RIYADH: Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday the reopening of the borders and the resumption of international flights after a two-week suspension with the aim of stopping the spread of a new Covid-19 strain.
The government ordered the lifting of “precautionary measures related to the spread of a new variant of the coronavirus,” the Interior Ministry said, according to the official Saudi press agency.
Saudi Arabia has recorded more than 363,000 cases, including more than 6,200 deaths, the highest among the Persian Gulf states, but has also reported a high rate of recovery.
Riyadh suspended international flights and access through ports and land crossings on December 21.
Other Gulf countries, Oman and Kuwait, which had taken similar measures, also lifted them in recent days.
But travelers returning from Britain, South Africa or “any country where the new variant of the coronavirus spreads” are subject to more restrictions, the statement added.
Foreigners coming from those countries must spend 14 days in another country before entering Saudi Arabia and submitting a negative test.
Saudi nationals returning from those countries will be able to enter directly, but must then spend two weeks in quarantine upon arrival and be subject to testing.
Last month, Saudi Arabia was one of the first Gulf countries to launch a mass vaccination campaign using the Pfizer-BioNTech jab.
Posted in Dawn, Jan 4, 2021
