Arab News

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s ban on direct travel from a number of countries came  to an end on Wednesday, as the country continues to relax travel restrictions caused by the pandemic.

Travelers from six countries — India, Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia, Brazil and Vietnam — can now arrive in the Kingdom without having to spend 14 days outside those countries before entering Saudi Arabia.

The travelers will need a valid PCR certificate and register on the Qdoom platform 72 hours before their flight departs.

They will also need to enter institutional quarantine for five days when they arrive, regardless of their immunization status outside the Kingdom, and will need to take tests on the first and fifth days of their quarantine.

Though Saudi Arabia has eased travel from some destinations, it has been forced to implement new restrictions on some African countries after a concerning new coronavirus variant, omicron, was detected in South Africa last week.