Saudi Arabia halted international flights and closed its borders for a week for fear of the rapidly spreading new strain of the coronavirus.
The kingdom can extend the suspension for another week, depending on the nature of the spread of the virus, according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency.
The Saudi decision comes after the UK warned that a new strain of the coronavirus is “out of control”. That forced France, Germany and others to suspend travel from Britain, while UAE-based Air Arabia PJSC said on Monday that it will halt flights from Morocco to the UK until further notice.
Saudi Arabia, which has reported about 361,000 cases and 6,122 deaths, has started lifting the coronavirus blockade as of May. Officials had not imposed any new restrictions since then, and the country has so far prevented another wave of infections.