The Saudi Ministry of Interior stated early on Saturday that travel to and from the UAE, Ethiopia, and Vietnam is prohibited without prior authorization, due to worries about the spread of more infectious COVID-19 variants.
Flights between the three nations will be stopped at 11 p.m. on Sunday, July 4, according to the government. Anyone arriving in the Kingdom after this date, whether or not they are a Saudi citizen, will be subjected to institutional quarantine. Saudi citizens who return before then will not, according to the current rules. Entry from Afghanistan has been halted as well.
Foreigners who visited any of the countries but left them, or any other nation on which the Kingdom has placed a travel ban, at least 14 days before arriving in Saudi Arabia, are exempt from the restrictions.
Saudis have been allowed to travel to specified countries outside the Kingdom from May 17 if they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 or have recovered from the illness. Individuals who have only gotten the first dose of their vaccination must wait 14 days before flying. After testing negative for the infection, those who have recovered must wait six months before traveling.
Saudi Arabia had planned to lift the ban on foreign flights on March 31, but that deadline was moved back to allow more people to be vaccinated.
On Friday, health officials in the Kingdom announced 1,338 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, as well as 16 new deaths.
