Saudi Arabia pauses international umrah, flights over new coronavirus strain
The kingdom has also suspended entry through its land and seaports for one week.
Saudi Arabia has suspended flights in and out of the country for one week and put the year-round international umrah pilgrimage on hold following reports of a new strain of the coronavirus emerging in the United Kingdom.
The Saudi government is "suspending all international flights for travelers, except in exceptional cases, temporarily for one week, which can be extended for another week,” the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said on Sunday.
Authorities are also “suspending entry to the kingdom through land and seaports temporarily for one week, which can be extended for another week.” Recent arrivals from certain European countries will be required to isolate at home for two weeks and take repeated COVID-19 tests.
In March, the kingdom put umrah pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina, which attract some 19 million people to the holy cities annually, on hold as part of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Faced with a decline in new cases, Saudi Arabia in October began allowing a limited number of citizens and residents to undertake the pilgrimage.
