Saudi Arabia has suspended entry to the kingdom from Pakistan as well as other countries to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The country has made this decision a part of its relentless efforts to control and prevent the spread of the COVID-19 as well as due to the importance of maintaining the epidemiological situation and public health in the country.

The state news agency reported that the kingdom has suspended entry from 20 countries with the exception of diplomats, Saudi citizens, medical practitioners and their families. These countries include the UAE, Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, Pakistan as well as UK, Germany, US, France, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, Switzerland, Sweden, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, India, Indonesia, and Japan.

The temporary ban, effective from today, applies to passengers who transited through any of the 20 countries. In a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia said that the entry of Saudi nationals, diplomats and health practitioners along with their families coming from any of the mentioned countries, or passed through within (14) days, is permissible but they have to follow the precautionary measures and [standard operating procedures] adopted by the Saudi Ministry of Health, DAWN reported.

Saudi Arabia has reported more than 368,000 coronavirus cases and nearly 6,400 deaths. It already launched its COVID-19 vaccination campaign on December 17 after receiving the first shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.