Saudi Arabia to allow international flights from September 15

'Exceptional categories' allowed to travel in or out of kingdom, with full lifting scheduled for January 1

Saudi Arabia has announced a partial lifting of its suspension of international flights from Tuesday to allow "exceptional categories" of citizens and residents to travel, state news agency Spa reported on Sunday.

The kingdom will scrap all travel restrictions on air, land and sea transport for citizens on January 1, 2021, an Interior Ministry official told the agency.

Saudi Arabia suspended all international flights in March to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Those eligible to travel from Tuesday include military and public employees, diplomats and families, workers in regional and international organisations, those with permanent jobs outside the kingdom, and businessmen.

Patients who need treatment abroad, particularly for cancer treatment or organ transplants, are allowed to travel.

Also eligible are people with humanitarian cases, students on scholarships or medical fellowship programmes, and sports teams.

GCC citizens and non-Saudi residents with valid residency or visitors' visas will be allowed to enter the kingdom, provided they can show proof that they are Covid-19 negative.

The ministry official said the lifting of travel restrictions would take effect from 6am on Tuesday.

The travel ban was among stringent measures in the kingdom to curb the spread of the coronavirus, including 24-hour curfews on most towns and cities.

The kingdom also cancelled Umrah pilgrimages and allowed only a limited number of citizens and foreign resident to perform the Hajj this year.

The official said a decision to gradually allow the resumption of Umrah would be assessed separately from the current lifting of travel restrictions.

Saudi Arabia has recorded 325,651 Covid-19 cases and 4,268 deaths, with daily infections down drastically from a peak of nearly 5,000 in mid-June.

The Saudi Ministry of Health on Sunday reported 601 new cases and 28 more deaths.

The number of patients who have recovered rose by 1,034 to 302,870, the ministry said.

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Coronavirus around the region - in pictures:

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Palestinian children listen to their teacher during a a lesson at the Modern English School in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus. EPA

Women wearing face masks check their phone as they walk with the Hagia Sophia Mosque seen in the background, in Istanbul, Turkey. EPA

Women fly kites with their children, in Istanbul, Turkey. EPA

Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah and Kuwaiti Finance Minister Barrak Al Shaitan during a parliament session at Kuwait's national assembly. AFP

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Iraqi volunteers transport an oxygen cylinder to a patient's home in the city of Najaf. Reuters

A woman wearing a face mask casts her vote inside a school used as a polling station during the second day of Egypt's senate elections in Cairo. Reuters

A voter walks through a sanitising gate to enter a polling station during second day of the Egyptian senate election in Cairo. EPA

Moroccan soldiers patrol the city of Tangiers. AFP

Algerian women walk past the La Grande Poste (main post office) building in the centre of the capital Algiers. AFP