RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Monday lifted coronavirus travel restrictions on citizens going to Turkey, India, Ethiopia, and Vietnam.
The Ministry of Interior tweeted it was “lifting citizens’ direct and indirect travel suspension to the Republic of Ethiopia, the Republic of Turkey, the Republic of Vietnam, and the Republic of India.”
It said the decision was based on the epidemiological situation in those countries and submissions from health authorities on the global epidemiological situation.
The Kingdom lifted the ban on Saudi citizens traveling directly or indirectly to Indonesia on June 7. It banned them from traveling to Indonesia last July due to the pandemic and the spread of a new COVID-19 variant.
The ministry’s General Directorate of Passports previously said Saudis were banned from traveling to 15 countries due to the spread of COVID-19 cases: Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, India, Yemen, Somalia, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, Vietnam, Armenia, Belarus, and Venezuela.
Last week the country announced the lifting of COVID-19 measures, including the requirement to wear face masks in enclosed spaces.
People are no longer required to wear a face mask indoors, except for the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah. Health facilities, public events, planes, and public transport wishing to uphold preventative measures can also keep the requirement to wear masks.
Proof of vaccination on the Tawakkalna application is also no longer required to enter establishments, events, activities, planes, and public transport.
People wishing to travel will be required to take a third booster dose after eight months instead of three months. However, the new regulation does not apply to people under a specific age or those exempted from vaccinations by the Ministry of Health.
