RIYADH: Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday it would allow fully vaccinated expats in countries under a travel ban to return to the Kingdom.
The Ministry of Interior said residents of the Kingdom, who have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine prior to their departure, may return even if they have passed through a country under the travel ban within 14 days.
The announcement comes as Saudi Arabia recorded seven new COVID-19 related deaths on Tuesday, raising the total number of fatalities to 8,497.
The Ministry of Health confirmed 353 new cases reported in the Kingdom in the previous 24 hours, meaning 542,707 people have now contracted the disease.
Of the total number of cases, 4,377 remain active and 1,108 in critical condition.
According to the ministry, the highest number of cases were recorded in the capital Riyadh with 72, followed by Makkah with 66, the Eastern Province with 41, Jazan recorded 34, and Asir confirmed 30 cases.
The health ministry also announced that 456 patients had recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 529,833.
Over 34.46 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been administered in the Kingdom to date through 587 centers.
The ministry renewed its call on the public to register with the Sehhaty app to receive the vaccine, and adhere to the measures and abide by instructions.
Meanwhile, some 40 people were arrested in Hail for violating preventive measures that stipulate no more than 20 people can gather at one point. Legal measures have been taken against them and penalties were applied against the host, the person in charge of the facility, and everyone who attended the gathering.
The coronavirus pandemic has affected over 213 million people globally and the death toll has reached around 4.45 million.
