Saudi Arabia suspends entry for Umrah pilgrimage, tourism as coronavirus spreads outside China

• It has also banned tourists belonging to countries where the virus is spreading from visiting the kingdom.
• Globally, at least 80,000 people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus.

As more countries report cases of coronavirus outside China, Saudi Arabia suspended on Thursday foreigners’ entry for the Umrah pilgrimage and tourism.

In a statement the kingdom's ministry of foreign affairs said that the country has temporarily suspended entry of individuals seeking to perform Umrah pilgrimage or visiting the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah. It has also banned tourists belonging to countries where the virus is spreading from visiting the kingdom.

#Statement | Proactive Preventive Measures to Prevent the Arrival of the New Coronavirus (#COVID19) to the Kingdom pic.twitter.com/fuBAWq19Du

— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) February 26, 2020

The statement further said that these precautions are temporary and are subject to continuous evaluation by the authorities. The kingdom has not reported cases of the coronavirus, but surrounding Bahrain and Kuwait have confirmed cases.

Pakistan, Sweden, Norway, Greece, Romania and Algeria have reported their first cases of the novel coronavirus. Meanwhile, in China, the epicenter of the deadly virus has reported 78,190 confirmed cases.

Globally, at least 80,000 people have been diagnosed with the virus.