Saudi Arabia has extended a ban on entry to the kingdom by air, land and sea for another week.

In a statement, the Ministry of Interior said the decision was taken as a precautionary measure against the spread of the new variant of the coronavirus, which has been detected in a number of countries, Arab News reported.

Exceptional cases would be exempted from the entry ban, and non-Saudi citizens are allowed to leave the Kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. The ministry further said that it is assessing the current situation and if necessary the travel ban could be further extended.

Last week, the kingdom suspended international flights for a week over concerns of a new strain of the COVID-19. The new strain of the virus emerged earlier this month in Britain after which more than 50 countries imposed travel restrictions on Britain.

France, South Africa, Canada, Italy, Joran, Japan are among the several countries where the new variant has already reached.