The Saudi Press Agency reported that the Saudi authorities suspended entry to its lands for Umrah, pilgrimage, or visits to the Prophet’s Mosque Al-Masjed An-Nabawi temporarily, as part of measures to prevent the arrival of coronavirus to the country.
The agency added that Saudi Arabia also decided to suspend entry to its lands with tourist visas for people coming from countries affected by the coronavirus; among these countries is Lebanon.
Riyadh has also decided to suspend the use of national identity cards that Saudi nationals and citizens of Gulf Cooperation Council countries use to travel to and from the Kingdom.
According to Al-Jazeera, the Saudis abroad are excluded from the procedures. They are allowed to enter the country if they left Saudi with a national identity card.
The same applies to citizens of the Cooperation Council countries that are currently residing in Saudi and wish to return to their countries as long as their entry is with an identity card.
Saudi Arabia confirmed that these procedures are temporary and are subject to continuous evaluation by authorities. Among the procedures Saudi has made, was the refusal of Lebanese to enter its soil.
According to VDL News, Saudi Arabia prevented the Lebanese that were coming from Lebanon to enter it. They were flying from Lebanon to Jordan, where they were refused entrance to Saudi Arabia.
The website added that this measure is among the ones taken by Saudi Arabia to prevent the spread of the coronavirus on its soil.
Even though Saudi may be the only country to refuse entry for Lebanese who are already on their way, it is not the only country with a travel ban that also includes Lebanon being a country with seven coronavirus cases recorded.
Bahrain has also suspended all flights to and from Lebanon, urging its citizens who want to return home to call an emergency number.