An unnamed interior ministry official of Saudi Kingdom has said that the Saudi citizens who were allowed to travel abroad in May, without a prior permission from authorities for the first time since March 2020 had violated travel regulations.
“Anyone who is proven to be involved will be subject to legal accountability and heavy penalties upon their return, and will be banned from travel for three years,” the official said.
The countries include Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon, Argentina, India, Brazil, Vietnam, Turkey, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, and United Arab Emirates which are banned by Saudi Arabia to travel and transit.
The official further cleared that the citizens are still banned to directly fly to these states or to via another country, in order to control the pandemic and contain the spread of the deadly virus.
It also urged citizens to be careful and to stay away from areas where instability prevails or where the virus is spreading, and to take all precautionary measures regardless of their destination.
On July 26, the Saudi ministry of health announced that over half of the Kingdom’s population has become immune by at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The kingdom, the largest Gulf state with a population of some 30 million, on Tuesday recorded 1,379 new Covid-19 infections, bringing its total to 520,774 cases and 8,189 deaths.
It saw daily infections fall from a peak above 4,000 in June 2020 to below the 100 marks in early January.
