Photo: Rabee Younes
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has announced that the UAE, along with South Africa and Argentina have been removed from its list of entry-banned countries. This means that fully vaccinated people can now travel to and from any of these nations via air, sea, or land, while abiding by the safety precautions from Wednesday, September 8.
According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), all procedures and decisions will be undergoing continuous evaluation by the relevant health authorities, based on further developments of the ongoing global pandemic. In May, the Kingdom also lifted quarantine restrictions for fully vaccinated travelers with the exception of countries on the entry-banned list.
إيقاف تعليق القدوم إلى المملكة من الإمارات وجنوب إفريقيا والأرجنتين والسماح بسفر المواطنين إليها. pic.twitter.com/eXT84Q8qzq
— وزارة الداخلية (@MOISaudiArabia) September 7, 2021
The decision follows the removal of 20 countries from the list at the end of August, including India, Indonesia, and Pakistan. The Ministry of Interior has stated that it, “calls upon citizens wishing to travel to the countries to which travel is permitted to be careful, stay away from areas where the virus is spreading, and follow all precautionary measures, regardless of their destination,” as reported by the SPA.
Travel to the UAE was banned on July 4, on account of the rising Covid-19 cases in the Kingdom. On September 7, the Ministry of Health recorded approximately 546,000 Covid-19 cases, which is a marked reduction from previous weeks. Saudi Arabia aims to vaccinate at least 70% of the population against Covid-19 shortly and achieve herd immunity later this year or early on in 2022. Currently, a total of 38 million doses have been administered among the population.
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