JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia on Tuesday banned expatriates from traveling to the kingdom from 20 countries to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Exceptions to the ban, which begins at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, are diplomats, and medical staff and their families.
Travel will be banned from the UAE, Egypt, Lebanon, and Turkey, as well as the US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, Switzerland, Sweden, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Japan.
The ban also applies to travelers who transited through any of the 20 countries in the 14 days before a planned visit to the kingdom. Many passengers had been using Dubai as a transit hub from countries where there are no direct flights to Saudi Arabia, an option that is now no longer available.
The new action comes amid a global surge in cases of COVID-19 linked to variations in the original coronavirus, first detected in England, South Africa and Brazil, and fears that vaccines being rolled out worldwide may be less effective against them.
Britain began door-to-door testing of 80,000 people on Tuesday in an effort to stem the spread of the highly infectious South African variant, and there has been an increased spread of the English variant in Sweden.
Health officials in the Kingdom warned this week that stricter measures would be necessary to curb the spread of the virus if the public continued to flout regulations on social distancing and a ban on large gatherings. Saudi Arabia reported 310 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, almost four times the number a month ago.
Flights to and from the Kingdom were first suspended on March 14, 2020, two weeks after the World Health Organization declared that the coronavirus outbreak was a pandemic. Entry to Saudi Arabia by air, land and sea resumed on Jan. 3.
Saudi Arabia suspends entry from 20 countries, including Pakistan
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Saudi Arabia suspends entry from 20 countries, including Pakistan
- Exceptions to the ban, which begins at 9pm on Wednesday, are diplomats and medical staff and their families
- UAE, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Brazil, South Africa, India, Indonesia, among nations banned
Parliamentary Foreign Vice-Minister Matsumoto to visit Saudi Arabia, Jordan
TOKYO: Japan’s Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Matsumoto Hisashi will visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Jordan from Jan. 11 to 15, the foreign ministry said on Friday.
During the visit, Matsumoto is scheduled to exchange views with government officials of Saudi Arabia and Jordan on bilateral relations as well as regional and international situations.
Matsumoto is scheduled to arrive in Riyadh on Jan. 12, according to the ministry.
A version of this article appeared on Arab News Japan.
Thousands in Lebanon benefit from KSrelief healthcare services
RIYADH: A project by Saudi aid agency KSrelief to improve healthcare services for Syrian refugees and their host community in Bebnine, Akkar Governorate, has continued in Lebanon.
Some 2,689 patients were seen at the Akkar-Bebnine Health Care Center in December with 6,194 services provided under pharmacy, laboratory, nursing, community and psychological health programs.
Of the total number of patients, 68 percent were women and 51 percent were refugees, reported the Saudi Press Agency.
Saudi Arabia’s KSrelief continues aid work in new year
- The work reflects Saudi Arabia's ongoing commitment through KSrelief to help those most in need
RIYADH: The Kingdom’s aid agency KSrelief has continued its humanitarian work at the start of 2025, the Saudi Press Agency reported recently.
In Syria, 892 families received food aid and health kits in the Afrin and Aleppo governorates of the war-torn country, benefiting 5,352 individuals.
The agency also distributed bags of flour, winter kits, and personal-care bags to 211 families in Syria’s Al-Rastan area, benefitting 968 individuals.
In Syria’s Rural Damascus governorate, KSrelief distributed bags of flour, food aid, personal-care bags, and shelter kits to 164 families.
In Pakistan, there were 2,821 food parcels, benefiting 18,638 people, distributed in the Bahawalnagar and Rahim Yar Khan areas of Punjab province, and the Hingol area in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
KSrelief also distributed 1,082 clothing vouchers to families in Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan’s Amman, Zarqa and Balqa governorates.
Saudi Museum of Contemporary Art to host ‘Manga Hokusai Manga’ exhibition
- Exhibition is homage to renowned Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai
The much-anticipated “Manga Hokusai Manga” exhibition will be held at the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art in JAX Diriyah from Jan. 15 to Feb. 8.
Held in collaboration with the Embassy of Japan and the Japan Foundation, the exhibition, ratified by the Kingdom’s Museums Commission, will showcase the works of the renowned Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai.
It will highlight the history and evolution of manga, and provide a perspective on how Hokusai’s classical illustrations have influenced modern visual arts, the Saudi Press Agency reported recently.
Hokusai published his first collection of art in 1814, featuring sketches of “daily life, landscapes and whimsical creatures,” according to a post on X by the museum.
The Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art aims to foster cultural exchange between local and international creators.
Kingdom readies itself for 3 days of rain and high winds
- Warning of high waves along the Kingdom’s coastlines
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is bracing itself for rainfall across most parts of the Kingdom over the next three days after the National Center for Meteorology issues warnings on Thursday.
In a weather bulletin, the NCM warned of downpours accompanied by winds of up to 60 kph, and the possibility of torrential rain and hail. High waves are expected along the nation’s coastlines.
The regions of Al-Jouf, the Northern Borders, and Hail will have rainy conditions on Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, rain is expected in the Tabuk and Madinah regions; on Saturday and Sunday in the Eastern Province, Asir and Jazan; and on Saturday in Qassim.
For the Riyadh and Al-Baha regions, rain is expected from Friday to Sunday.
The NCM urged the public to stay updated on the weather conditions in the Kingdom by checking the daily reports on its website, the Anwaa application, or its social media accounts.
