Saudi Arabia extends COVID-19 travel ban till May 17 as precautionary measure

Saudi Arabia has extended the travel ban till May 17. Saudi’s Ministry of Interior took to its official Twitter handle and said that the amendment of the date of lifting the travel suspension for citizens and the opening of the land, sea and airports has been postponed. Earlier, the ministry said that the ban would end on travel for its citizens and would reopen its ports from March 31.

According to the reports by Khaleej Times, an interior ministry spokesperson said that the decision was taken, after keeping in mind the importance of reaching a high level of community immunity in the region before travel is permitted. He further said that the ban would now be eased on May 17, 1 am onwards. Also, he spoke about the vaccines being delayed. 

Read: COVID-19: Russia Resumes International Air Travel With Four Countries Including India

New strain of COVID-19

During December end, Saudi Arabia extended the ban on all flights but just for one week. This travel ban was imposed due to the new strain of COVID-19 virus discovered in the United Kingdom, which will continue for seven more days. Saudi Arabia had banned all international flights as well as entry in the Kingdom through seaports for a week on December 21. 

Saudi Arabia had imposed a ban on all international flights after the discovery of the new strain of the COVID-19 virus in the UK. Several countries had gone for a more holistic approach as they only banned flights to and from the United Kingdom and also from a few other nations where the new variant of the virus had been found, including South Africa and Nigeria.

Read: COVID-19: Single Shot Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Shows 66% Efficacy In Global Trial

Saudi's King receive vaacine 

In another significant development, during the first week of January, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud received the first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine. Sharing the footage of his inoculation by the health authorities at NEOM economic zone centre, Saudi's government press agency wrote on its official Twitter handle, "Custodian of the two holy mosques receives the first dose of the Corona vaccine." Meanwhile, Saudi's minister of health Tawfig AlRabiah also shared the footage of the Saudi king getting the coronavirus vaccine administered. 

Read: Saudi Arabia's King Salman Gets First Dose Of Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine

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(Image Credits: AP/Pixabay)