Saudi Arabia Suspends Entry for Umrah Amid Fears of Coronavirus Outbreak
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has announced the temporary suspension of entry to the Kingdom for Umrah or visiting the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, as a precautionary measure against the spread of coronavirus to the country.
The Ministry also suspended entry for tourists from countries already suffering from the virus, and urged its citizens to “exercise caution before traveling to countries experiencing coronavirus outbreak”.
However, the country included a few exceptions in its suspension list; the Saudi nationals who have exited the kingdom using their national identity card and wish to return, as well as Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) citizens who had entered the kingdom using the national identity card, and wish to return to their countries.
“We ask God Almighty to spare all humanity from all harm,” the Ministry tweeted.
In other news, amid the growing fear of the spread of the virus in the Middle East, Iran has confirmed a total of 254 infected cases.
