Saudi Arabia Widens Travel Ban to Europe over Coronavirus

12 March 2020 16:47 WIB

Cleaners wear protective face masks, following the outbreak of the coronavirus, as they swipe the floor at the Kaaba in the Grand mosque in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia March 3, 2020. Saudi Arabia closed the sites to foreign pilgrims and traditional tourists from some 25 countries to stop the spread of the virus. It also said that citizens and residents of Gulf Cooperation Council countries wishing to enter must wait 14 days after returning from outside the region. REUTERS/Ganoo Essa

TEMPO.CO, Riyadh - Saudi Arabia has extended flight and travel bans over coronavirus fears to include the European Union and 12 other countries after announcing 24 new cases overnight to bring its total to 45, state media reported on Thursday, March 12.

Citizens and residents in the affected jurisdictions have 72 hours to return to the kingdom, state news agency SPA said, citing an official source at the Interior Ministry.

Passenger traffic through all land crossings with Jordan was also suspended, while commercial and cargo traffic is still allowed.

The kingdom had already banned travel to some 19 countries, including neighboring Arab states, and said it would impose a fine of up to 500,000 riyals ($133,000) on people who did not disclose health information and travel details at entry points.

Other preventive measures include locking down the oil-producing region of Qatif, where many of its cases are centered, suspending the Umrah pilgrimage, closing schools and cinemas nationwide, canceling conferences and sporting events, and postponing a G20 ministerial meeting scheduled for next week.

As well as the EU, the latest decision includes Switzerland, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Sudan, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Eritrea, Kenya, Djibouti, and Somalia.

Millions of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia come from many of those countries.

The decision excludes health workers in the kingdom from the Philippines and India as well as evacuation, shipping and trade trips involving necessary precautions, the SPA report said.

REUTERS

Saudi Arabia