Moscow, Jan 3 (Agency) – Saudi Arabia is set to scrap entry ban related to a new strain of SARS-CoV-2 on Sunday, state media reported, citing an interior ministry source. On December 21, Riyadh announced the halt to international flights and the closure of sea and land border crossings due to a new coronavirus mutation detected in a number of countries. On Monday, the kingdom extended the measures for another week.
According to the SPA news agency, the country will resume international flights and reopen borders from 11:00 a.m. (8:00 GMT) on Sunday. Non-citizens coming from the UK, South Africa and other countries that have detected the new variant of the novel coronavirus will be required to spend no less than 14 days outside the affected countries before entering the kingdom, the agency said. Such travelers will also need to provide negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for the coronavirus. Travelers from the other countries will have to spend three to seven days in self-isolation and also provide PCR test results.