Saudi Arabia threatens 3-year journey ban for residents who go to ‘red list’ international locations, together with India

Saudi Arabia will impose a three-year journey ban on residents travelling to international locations on the dominion’s ‘red list’ underneath efforts to curb the unfold of coronavirus and its new variants, state information company SPA mentioned on Tuesday.
It cited an unnamed inside ministry official as saying some Saudi residents, who in May have been allowed to journey overseas with out prior permission from authorities for the primary time since March 2020, had violated journey rules.
“Anyone who is proven to be involved will be subject to legal accountability and heavy penalties upon their return, and will be banned from travel for three years,” the official mentioned.

Saudi Arabia has banned journey to or transit at a lot of international locations together with Afghanistan, Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Pakistan, South Africa, Turkey, Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates.
“The Ministry of Interior stresses that citizens are still banned from travelling directly or via another country to these states or any other that has yet to control the pandemic or where the new strains have spread,” the official mentioned.

The kingdom, the most important Gulf state with a inhabitants of some 30 million, on Tuesday recorded 1,379 new COVID-19 infections, bringing its complete to 520,774 circumstances and eight,189 deaths.
It noticed every day infections fall from a peak above 4,000 in June 2020 to under the 100 mark in early January.