In light of rising number of new Covid cases, Saudi Arabia has announced a ban on travel to India.
The fifteen other countries, apart from India, include Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, Indonesia, Vietnam, Armenia, Belarus, and Venezuela.
The ban applies to Saudi citizens who wish to travel to the abovementioned countries. There are no new guidelines on whether Indian nationals will be barred from entering Saudi Arabia.
According to an announcement by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday (May 22), India had recorded as many as 2,226 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours.
That's one more reason to keep being careful - wear your masks and avoid crowded places. Pay heed to the World Health Organisation (WHO) which has warned that the COVID-19 pandemic is “most certainly not over". Cases may have decline since the peak of the omicron wave, but the WHO director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told governments that “we lower our guard at our peril."
Meanwhile, the General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) emphasised that the validity of the passport of Saudis who intend to travel to non-Arab countries must be more than six months. The health-related requirements for Saudis travelling outside the Kingdom include receiving three doses of vaccine against coronavirus (exemptions will be made for groups on medical grounds).
