Saudi Arabia lifts COVID-19 travel ban to, from UAE, South Africa starting Sept. 8

Saudi Arabia has lifted a COVID-19 travel ban and will allow the resumption of travel between the Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, and South Africa starting from September 8, the Ministry of Interior announced on Tuesday.

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The ministry added that based on continuous monitoring of the epidemiological situation locally and globally it was decided to allow entry to the Kingdom through land and sea borders, and airports.

The decision also allows Saudi citizens to resume travel to and from the three countries.

However, the Kingdom’s ministry stressed the importance of adhering to all the precautionary and preventive measures adopted.

“The Ministry of Interior calls upon citizens wishing to travel to the countries to which travel is permitted to be careful, stay away from areas where the virus is spreading, and follow all precautionary measures, regardless of their destination,” the Saudi Press Agency reported citing the Kingdom’s interior ministry.

In May, Saudi Arabia allowed its citizens vaccinated against the coronavirus to travel after a year-long ban.

It later decided to allow only fully vaccinated citizens to travel from August 9.

Saudi Arabia suspended travel to and from the UAE along with Vietnam and Ethiopia on July 3, after the neighboring Gulf state recorded cases of the highly transmissible delta variant.

COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has seen a drastic drop in coronavirus infections in recent weeks after recording a total of 544,449 COVID-19 cases as of September 7, according to the Ministry of Health.

Authorities implemented some of the strictest anti-COVID measures in the world that included travel bans, lockdowns and enforcing the requirement of showing proof of vaccination to enter public places.

Saudi Arabia has administered 37,181,413 doses of COVID-19 vaccines across the Kingdom, according to the health ministry.

Over 587 inoculation centers have been set up around the Kingdom to ensure that all citizens and residents have access to COVID-19 vaccines, according to the ministry.

Saudi Arabia plans to reach herd immunity and vaccinate at least 70 percent of its population against COVID-19 by October this year. So far, almost 46 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated.

With AFP

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