JEDDAH/ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia has imposed travel bans on citizens of 20 countries, including Pakistan, to stem the spread of the global Corona epidemic.
The Saudi Arabian Civil Aviation Department has issued a written travel ban order stating that travelers from 20 countries, including Pakistan, will be barred from entering Saudi Arabia for 14 days, subject to Saudi local time, and it will take effect tonight at 9 p.m., Saudi local time.
According to the order of the Saudi General Aviation Authority, Saudi nationals, diplomats, health professionals and their families coming to Saudi Arabia will be exempted from this ban, however, they will not be required to report for corona test. There will also be a 14-day quarantine on the homes of Saudi citizens, diplomats, health professionals and their families.
Countries that have been banned by Saudi Arabia include the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Germany, as well as the United States, France, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, Switzerland and Brazil. Citizens of these countries will not be able to travel to Saudi Arabia.
According to the notification, citizens of Pakistan, Argentina, South Africa, Indonesia and Japan have also been temporarily banned from traveling. Saudi officials say travel bans have been put in place to prevent new strains of the corona virus from emerging in the UK, Africa and Brazil.
According to a PIA spokesman, due to the ban, no passenger will be able to travel from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia. Prior to the ban, PIA flights will run as usual from Sialkot to Dammam, Multan to Madinah and Islamabad to Riyadh. According to the PIA spokesman, flights will be continued to bring back passengers from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan.
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