Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Iran, and Israel are among the Middle East countries to announce flight bans over fears of the new coronavirus strain.
RIYADH–With Britons already locked down for Christmas due to an “uncontrolled” coronavirus strain, the sense of isolation deepened when a rising listing of countries, together with across the Middle East, imposed travel bans.
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Iran, and Israel are among the many Middle East countries to announce flight bans over fears of the mutant virus.
Stricter measures were adopted by Saudi Arabia and Oman that halted international flights and closed their borders for a per week over fears in regards to the fast-spreading new strain of the coronavirus.
The state-run Saudi Press Agency stated the kingdom could extend the suspension for one more week relying on the nature of the virus’s spread. Oman halted passenger traffic by its air, land, and seaports for per week starting Tuesday, however, freight services are exempt from the ban.
Kuwait, too, has added Britain to a list of “high-risk” nations and banned flights.
Morocco, for its half, stated it would suspend air travel with the UK starting Sunday night, also citing fears of the new coronavirus strain.
Morocco had allowed some flights to resume linking travelers hubs Agadir and Marrakech with London, in a bid to save its hard-hit tourism sector.
On Sunday, Morocco reported a complete of 417,125 coronavirus infections, including 6,957 deaths and 32,014 active cases.
Turkey’s Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said that flights from Britain, Denmark — the place 9 cases of the new strain have been detected — the Netherlands, and South Africa can be suspended.
Iran’s health ministry also ordered flights from Britain suspended for two weeks.
Israel, for its part, stated it was barring entry to overseas residents traveling from Britain, Denmark, and South Africa.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office also announced tough quarantine guidelines for Israelis returning home from those nations.
Britain hoped to have turned a corner in its try to quell the virus, with the rollout of a vaccine and falling case rates.
However, the emergence of a new strain has thrown the government’s plans into disarray.
The government had initially introduced restrictions that can be eased to allow families to satisfy over Christmas, however, modified its plans after it was presented final week with a dire evaluation of the new pressure that’s running rampant throughout south-east England.
Britain has been badly hit by the pandemic, with more than 67,000 deaths of those testing positive for the virus.
