Saudi Arabia recently announced that the country is set to reopen its borders and resume international flights after a two-week entry ban introduced to curb the new strain of the COVID-19 virus. According to a statement by the interior ministry, the government has decided to lift the precautionary measures related to the spread of the new strain of coronavirus.
It was on December 21, 2020, that Riyadh announced the halt to international flights and the closure of sea and land border crossings due to the new coronavirus mutation detected in a number of countries but has now reopened to welcome individuals from other nations.
However, non-Saudi citizens arriving from the U.K., South Africa, and other countries that have detected the new variant of the novel coronavirus will be required to spend no less than 14 days outside the affected countries before entering the kingdom, according to reports. Such travellers will also need to provide negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for the coronavirus.
Travellers from other countries will have to spend three to seven days in self-isolation and also provide PCR test results. The new strain of SARS-CoV-2 was discovered in southeast England in mid-December and is likely to be up to 70 percent more transmissible. Despite many countries having suspended air service with the U.K., the new strain is said to have spread across Europe and further afield.
Tags: Coronavirus, Covid-19, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia Tourism
