Saudi Arabia restricts entry as virus spreads
UAE REPORTS SIX MORE CASES, ORDERS TRAVEL CURBS
Saudi Arabia yesterday temporarily suspended nationals and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) citizens from using national ID cards to travel to and from the kingdom. They will instead have to use their passports.
It also suspended arrivals by foreigners for Umrah and tourists from two dozen countries as a growing number of coronavirus cases globally deepened fears of a pandemic.
The UAE yesterday announced six new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total to 19. It also reported two recoveries, bringing the number of recovered to five, all Chinese.
The infected persons include four Iranians, one Bahraini and one Chinese. Twenty-eight people who had contact with the confirmed cases have been quarantined.
The UAE also announced that starting midnight today, all UAE nationals, GCC citizens and expats will be required to use their passports, and not their national identity cards, to enter and exit UAE airports.
UAE residents currently abroad as well as GCC citizens and expat who entered before this announcement are exempt. Saudi Arabia also announced a similar exemption.
‘Pandemic potential’
Meanwhile, the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) yesterday said the coronavirus outbreak had “pandemic potential”, adding that Iran, Italy and South Korea were at a “decisive point”.
“No country should assume it won’t get cases, that would be a fatal mistake, quite literally,” director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
The coronavirus has mainly battered China, causing more than 78,000 infections and around 2,750 deaths. It has spread to another 44 countries, where around 3,250 cases and 51 deaths have been reported.
Saudi Arabia yesterday suspended arrivals by foreigners for Umrah and tourists from some two dozen countries where coronavirus has spread, as a growing number of cases deepened fears of a pandemic.
The step comes ahead of Ramadan, which begins in late April this year, when visits by pligrims accelerate for Umrah. More than 7.5 million people performed the minor pilgrimage in the birthplace of Islam throughout 2019, according to official figures.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar have not reported any coronavirus cases, but the other four Gulf Arab states have.
The virus has infected about 80,000 people worldwide and killed more than 2,800, the majority in China where the outbreak began in late 2019.
TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS
Emirates airline said yesterday it would no longer carry to Saudi Arabia passengers with Umrah pilgrimage visas or tourists from nearly two dozen countries until further notice, in compliance with a Saudi government directive. The passengers “will not be accepted for boarding at their point of origin until further notice,” Emirates said in a statement.
The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported that entry has also been suspended for those coming from countries in which the virus has spread and authorities called on citizens not to travel to countries where the new coronavirus is spreading. The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that health authorities are closely following the developments of the spread of the virus.
“The Ministry affirms the keenness of the kingdom’s government through those authorities to implement the approved international standards and
support the efforts of countries and international organisations, especially the World Health Organisation, to stop the spread of the virus, control it and eliminate it,” the SPA said in a statement.
Pilgrimage is the backbone of a plan to expand tourism under Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman’s ambitious economic reform agenda. Some two million pilgrims are expected in late July for the Haj. The Saudi foreign ministry said overnight that the suspensions were temporary but provided no time frame. Entry is also suspended for visits to the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah.
CONCERN IN KUWAIT
Meanwhile, the number of new infections inside China was for the first time overtaken by new cases elsewhere on Wednesday, with Italy and Iran emerging as epicentres of the illness. Bahrain recorded more cases yesterday, all in people who had been in Iran, to bring their total to 33.
Kuwait now has 43 confirmed cases of coronavirus, an official said. All the cases are of people who had been to Iran in February.
In Indonesia, Joko Asmoro, of the Association of Muslim Haj and Umrah Organisers, said that 150,000 to 200,000 Indonesian pilgrims could be affected by the suspension over the next month.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index fell 1.4 per cent yesterday, weighed down by tourismrelated firms Jabal Omar Development, Seera Group, and Al Hokair Group. The kingdom introduced a new tourism visa for 49 countries last October. Its top tourism official said this week 400,000 tourist visas had since been issued as the country aims to attract 100 million annual visits in 2030.
Parents of Dubai school students are being asked to fill out a Travel Declaration Form if they or their close relatives have visited select countries hit by the coronavirus outbreak in the last 28 days, Gulf News can reveal.
The countries mentioned in the form include China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Iran, Japan, Singapore and Italy.
“We received the advice and travel history declaration this morning from the DHA by email. It specifically talks about travel history within the last 28 days to China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Iran, Japan, Singapore or Italy. The form is only required to be completed if the student or a close relative has visited any of the above mentioned countries within the last 28 days,” said Gavin Walford-Wright, Chief People, Marketing and Admissions Officer at Taaleem Group of Schools.
Dinesh Kothari, managing director of Delhi Private Schools and Chairman of Victory Heights Primary School and South View School, said, “the initiative to get students to declare their travel history is very good as it ensures they are safe. We can be 100 per cent sure that no child in the school is at risk.” He said in case a child or a relative has travelled to one of the seven countries specified, they would be required to get necessary medical clearance.
Virtual classes
Kothari said in the event that there is a child who has a travel history and cannot attend school, the management will make all arrangements to provide them with virtual classes, so they will not miss out on their lessons.
Another international school said the form, addressed to parents of students, says that in order to ensure the “continuous well-being” of their children, classmates, and rest of the students and staff community, Dubai Health Authority requires them to provide information regarding their travel history in the last 28 days as per the current prevention and control policy of Covid-19.
The school said the form requires parents to report any travel and update it regularly and that the form is required to be submitted to the school clinic as soon as the child or a close relative returns from travel from the countries specified.