Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has urged its citizens and residents to avoid unnecessary travel outside the Kingdom, especially to high-risk countries, due to the rapidly spreading Omicron variant, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Saturday.
The Public Health Authority (Weqaya) announced this advisory due to a significant increase in the number of COVID-19 cases and the accelerated spread of the ‘Omicron’ mutant in many countries.
Weqaya recommended to travellers from outside the Kingdom, whether citizens or residents, regardless of their immunization status, to avoid social contact for five days and undergo a PCR test if they felt any respiratory symptoms.
Weqaya recommended continuing to adhere to preventive measures, such as:
- Wearing a face mask all the time
- Avoid crowded and public places
- Avoid shaking hands
The health authority has also stressed the importance of vaccinating with two doses and taking the booster shot.
Saudi Arabia on Saturday reported 116 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of cases detected in the kingdom to 550,738.
It also recorded one additional death due to the virus as well as 96 recoveries during the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health said. In total, the death toll has reached 8,861 while 539,981 people have recovered from the virus.
On November 26, 2021, countries around the world have closed their borders to African nations after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Omicron a variant of concern.