Saudi Arabia restricts citizens from travelling to 16 countries due to emergence COVID-19 variants
A Saudi immigration officer checks the passport of travellers.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced a travel ban for its citizens to 16 countries, due to the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
The General Directorate of Saudi Passports said, according to local media, that the 16 countries to which Saudi citizens have been banned are: Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, India, Yemen, Somalia, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, Indonesia, Vietnam, Armenia, Russia Belarus, and Venezuela.
The Directorate also clarified that the remaining period of passport validity should be more than 3 months when travelling to Arab countries, and more than 6 months for other countries.
It indicated that the remaining period for the validity of the national identity card should be more than 3 months, when travelling to the GCC countries.
On the other hand, Beijing reported 63 new domestically transmitted COVID-19 infections during the 24 hours to 3 pm (0700 GMT) on Saturday, a disease control official at the Chinese capital said.
Of the infections, 56 were found in controlled areas and seven during community screening tests, Liu Xiaofeng, deputy director at Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, told a news briefing.
The city has recorded 1,399 COVID infections since April 22, Liu said.
