COVID-19: Joy as Saudi Lifts Suspension of Direct Entry for Travellers from 6 Countries
- Saudi said it has lifted the travel restrictions placed on some countries in February 2020 due to the COVID-19 spike
- The six countries considered by the Arab nation include Indonesia, Pakistan, Brazil, Vietnam, Egypt, and India
- Expats from these countries will only have to spend five days instead of 14 in quarantine regardless of their vaccination status
The Saudi Arabia government has lifted the travel restriction placed on expats in some countries including India and Pakistan.
The ban was introduced in 2020 by the Arab country as a measure to tackle the spread of the highly-ravaging coronavirus pandemic.
But in a statement by its interior ministry, Saudi announced that the ban has been lifted and the new development will allow direct entry of fully vaccinated expatriates without the need to spend 14 days in transit outside their countries before entry.
Source: Getty Images
Travellers to use 5 instead of 14 days
According to a report in Arab News, expats from the six countries will only spend five days in quarantine regardless of their vaccination status outside the Kingdom.
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The countries include Indonesia, Pakistan, Brazil, Vietnam, Egypt, and India, this publication gathered.
The direct entry ban was imposed in February 2020 due to a global surge in cases linked to COVID-19 variants detected in nations like Britain, South Africa, and Brazil.
The action became expedient especially with the growing fears that COVID vaccines being rolled out worldwide could be less effective against variants.
The ban covered the UAE, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, the US, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, Switzerland, Sweden, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Japan.
UAE lifts ban on Nigeria
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that the ban imposed on travellers from Nigeria and nine other African countries by Canada has been lifted according to Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos.
This development came days after the United Kingdom and the UAE governments lifted the ban imposed on travel from 10 African countries including Nigeria.
In a related development, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), after five months, on Tuesday, August 3, lifted the flight ban on Nigerian travellers beginning from Thursday, August 5.
Emirates announced on its website that, as directed by the UAE authorities, eligible travellers from Nigeria and 10 other countries will be permitted to travel to and from the nation
Source: Legit.ng
