Saudi Arabia extends travel ban to Oman, France, Germany, Turkey and Spain
- By Reuters -
- Mar 09, 2020
DUBAI: Saudi Arabia has temporarily suspended land and sea travel to and from Oman, France, Germany, Turkey and Spain for citizens and residents to help stem the spread of coronavirus, state news agency SPA said on Monday.
Quoting a source in the Interior Ministry, SPA said people coming from these countries – or who have visited any of them within 14 days prior to travel to Saudi Arabia – will not be allowed to enter.
Riyadh earlier on Monday suspended travel to Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, South Korea, Egypt, Italy and Iraq in response to the coronavirus threat.
The coronavirus threat
The number of people infected with the coronavirus topped 107,000 globally, according to a Reuters tally of government announcements. Mainland China, outside the epicenter of Hubei province, reported no new locally transmitted cases for the second straight day. That said, this is the second-highest number of daily reported cases since the disease began, with almost 99% of new cases reported now outside of China.
The death toll outside of China also shot up to 704 from 129 a week earlier. Almost 80 percent of those deaths are from Iran and Italy. In the past 24 hours Italy reported 133 deaths, roughly the same amount as China’s combined toll over the past 5 days.
The number of confirmed U.S. cases of coronavirus reached nearly 550 on Sunday, including 22 deaths. Older Americans, especially those with chronic medical concerns, are being advised to think twice about attending big social gatherings and going on airline flights.