Covid-19 Outbreak: Saudi Arabia Suspends International Flights To India, 15 Other Countries

The ministry of health in Saudi Arabia also informed the public that zero monkeypox cases have been detected in the country

Saudi Arabia has imposed a ban on citizens from traveling to sixteen countries.

Source : AFP

New Delhi: In view of the rapid surge in Covid-19 infections in the past few weeks, Saudi Arabia has imposed a ban on citizens from traveling to sixteen countries, including India.

All the countries where the citizens of Saudi Arabia are banned to travel apart from India include Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, Indonesia, Vietnam, Armenia, Belarus, and Venezuela, reported Gulf News, according to the news agency ANI report.

Apart from this, the ministry of health in Saudi Arabia also informed the public that zero monkeypox cases have been detected in the country.

While deputy minister of health for preventive health Abdullah Asiri assured citizens that the Kingdom is capable of monitoring and track any suspected monkeypox cases and fight against the infection if any new case emerges.

"Until now, cases of transmission between humans are very limited, and therefore the possibility of any outbreaks occurring from it, even in countries that have detected cases, are very low," he added.

So far, 80 cases of monkeypox in 11 countries have been confirmed, according to Worl Health Organisation. The global health body is working to better understand the extent and cause of the outbreak.

In a statement issued on Friday, the WHO said the virus is endemic in some animal populations in a number of countries, leading to occasional outbreaks among local people and travelers.

Meanwhile, India has reported 2,022 new coronavirus infections on Monday taking the total tally of Covid-19 cases to 4,31,38,393, while the active cases dipped to 14,832, according to the Union health ministry.

The death toll touched 5,24,459 with 46 more people succumbing to the virus, showed data on Sunday.