• Worshippers take photographs of the Kaaba inside Mecca's Grand Mosque a day after Saudi authorities emptied Islam's holiest site for sterilisation over fears of the new coronavirus COVID-19. AFP
    Worshippers take photographs of the Kaaba inside Mecca's Grand Mosque a day after Saudi authorities emptied Islam's holiest site for sterilisation over fears of the new coronavirus COVID-19. AFP
  • An almost empty Kaaba at the Grand Mosque is seen after Saudi authority suspended umrah amid the fear of coronavirus outbreak. Reuters
    An almost empty Kaaba at the Grand Mosque is seen after Saudi authority suspended umrah amid the fear of coronavirus outbreak. Reuters
  • A view of Kaaba at the Grand Mosque, which is almost empty of worshippers. Reuters
    A view of Kaaba at the Grand Mosque, which is almost empty of worshippers. Reuters
  • Kaaba at the Grand Mosque is almost empty of worshippers. Reuters
    Kaaba at the Grand Mosque is almost empty of worshippers. Reuters
  • A view of Kaaba at the Grand Mosque, which is almost empty of worshippers. Reuters
    A view of Kaaba at the Grand Mosque, which is almost empty of worshippers. Reuters
  • The Kaaba, inside Mecca's Grand Mosque, is shown to be empty of worshippers on Thursday in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. AFP
    The Kaaba, inside Mecca's Grand Mosque, is shown to be empty of worshippers on Thursday in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. AFP
  • Small groups of pilgrims walk around the Kaaba. AFP
    Small groups of pilgrims walk around the Kaaba. AFP
  • Workers sterilize the ground in front of the Kaaba in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. AP Photo
    Workers sterilize the ground in front of the Kaaba in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. AP Photo
  • Municipal workers are seen in empty courtyard the Kaaba. AFP
    Municipal workers are seen in empty courtyard the Kaaba. AFP
  • Few prayed around the Kaaba in Makkah on Thursday. AP Photo
    Few prayed around the Kaaba in Makkah on Thursday. AP Photo
  • A pilgrim wears a mask as he visits the Grand Mosque in Makkah. AP Photo
    A pilgrim wears a mask as he visits the Grand Mosque in Makkah. AP Photo
  • A Saudi policeman stands guard in front of the Kaaba. AP Photo
    A Saudi policeman stands guard in front of the Kaaba. AP Photo
  • A pilgrim films pigeons outside the Grand Mosque. AP Photo
    A pilgrim films pigeons outside the Grand Mosque. AP Photo
  • Indonesian pilgrims, who entered Mecca before visas were halted, wait their bus to leave home in Makkah. AP Photo
    Indonesian pilgrims, who entered Mecca before visas were halted, wait their bus to leave home in Makkah. AP Photo
  • Far smaller crowds than usual of Muslim pilgrims circumambulate the Kaaba in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. AP Photo
    Far smaller crowds than usual of Muslim pilgrims circumambulate the Kaaba in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. AP Photo
  • The white-tiled area surrounding the Kaaba is shown empty of worshippers. AFP
    The white-tiled area surrounding the Kaaba is shown empty of worshippers. AFP

Coronavirus: Saudi restricts entry to kingdom from UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain to airports only


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Entry into Saudi Arabia from the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain will be temporarily restricted to three airports as the kingdom extends its precautionary measures amid the coronavirus crisis.

Only "commercial trucks" will be allowed to cross over via its land borders.

Those traveling from the three neigbouring GCC states can fly into King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, according to a statement via Saudi Press Agency.

The Ministry of Health will take "all necessary precautions at the aforementioned airports, as well as regarding the drivers and their accompanying of those trucks in the land ports, where these measures shall be applied immediately", it said.

The ruling will be enforced from 11.55pm on Saturday March 7. Saudi is also asking anyone traveling to the country on a new or current visa to bring with them valid proof that they are free of infection from Covid-19 if they are coming from high-risk countries. The lab certificate should have been issued in the 24-hours before travel.

Saudi is working to support international efforts to halt the spread of virus.

On Wednesday, it suspended the Umrah pilgrimage for its own citizens and residents in addition to restrictions announced last week on foreign pilgrims to help stop the disease from spreading. Its first case of the virus, a national who was returning from Iran through Bahrain, was announced on Monday.