Saudi Arabia on Friday has restricted entry into the Kingdom for passengers coming from Pakistan in the wake of rising cases of coronavirus.

The resumption of international flights at 1 a.m. on May 17 will exclude the 20 countries where the ban on flights continues as part of preventive measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease.

The banned countries, named by the Ministry of Interior, are: Argentina, the UAE, Germany, the US, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Pakistan, Brazil, Portugal, the UK, Turkey, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Lebanon, Egypt, India and Japan.

Noncitizens, diplomats, health practitioners and their families travelling from the listed countries have been denied entry to the Kingdom since Feb. 3. The ban applies to arriving passengers who have passed through any of the prohibited countries in the 14 days prior to their application to enter the Kingdom.

Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GAGA) has issued a notification in this regard.

The authority also restricted the entry of passengers coming from the European Union and Switzerland. It has given a 72-hours deadline to the Saudi citizens and Saudi iqama (residence permit) holders to return to the country.

Reporter: Ashraf Khan