Saudi Arabia to Lift Travel Ban on May 17

Saudi Arabia is going to lift travel ban, opening land, sea and air borders on Monday May 17, the interior ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The ministry revealed that Saudi citizens who have received two vaccination shots, or one shot at least two weeks prior to travel, as well as those who have recovered from coronavirus within the last six months and those who are under 18 years old will be allowed to travel.

The citizens have largely been barred from travel since March 2020, when the kingdom first banned all travel in and out of the country as COVID-19 began spreading worldwide. Its borders reopened in July 2020; however, citizens were still not allowed to travel.

In January, authorities postponed the end of the travel ban for the public and the full reopening of entry points to May 17.

In February, it suspended entry for non-citizens from 20 states with the exception of diplomats and medical practitioners.

Meantime, the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs announced on Wednesday that 12 mosques in 6 regions were temporarily closed after a number of cases of COVID-19 were confirmed inside them.

A total of 874 mosques were closed in the Kingdom within 80 days, 823 of them were opened after the completion of sterilization, in the context of ensuring the safety of worshippers, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).