The Saudi Arabian Government has temporarily suspended flights to and from South Africa and 13 other African countries due to the outbreak of the newly discovered coronavirus strain, omicron.
Other African countries affected by the new development were: Malawi, Zambia, Madagascar, Angola, Seychelles, Mauritius, Comoros, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, and Eswatini.
The suspension was disclosed by an official source from the country’s Ministry of Interior on Monday, saying the move was to prevent a further spread of the disease to the Arab nation.
He added that the government has mandated that any expatriate aiming to visit Saudi should be denied entry if they have been in any of the countries listed within the last 14 days before arrival in the Kingdom.
According to him, nationals and ex-pats who are allowed entry will be required to quarantine for five days, including those who have been vaccinated before the new variant.
The Ministry of Interior, meanwhile, has urged anyone that had earlier traveled to the countries affected by the flight ban and currently resident in the Kingdom after Nov. 1, to take a PCR test immediately.
Through a statement released yesterday, the government has assured its citizens that there were no omicron cases had been detected in the country.
