Riyadh, March 09, 2020, SPA -- Further to the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's decision of the temporary suspension of the citizens and expatriates' travel to (the United Arab Emirates, the State of Kuwait, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Republic of Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic, the Republic of South Korea, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Republic of Italy, and the Republic of Iraq), an official source at the Ministry of Interior stated that, according to the preventive and precautionary measures recommended by the competent health authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a part of its efforts to control the new Coronavirus (COVID19) and prevent its entry and spread as well as its keenness on protecting the health of citizens and expatriates and ensuring their safety, the Kingdom’s government decided to suspend temporarily the travel of citizens and expatriates to (the Sultanate of Oman, the Republic of France, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Turkey and the Kingdom of Spain), as well as suspending the entry of those coming from those countries, and those who were there during the 14 days prior to their arrival. The Kingdom also decided to stop air and sea flights between the Kingdom and the abovementioned countries. The source excluded evacuation, shipping and trade trips while taking the necessary precautions. The source added that the Ministries of Interior and Health may coordinate to deal with humanitarian and exceptional cases. --SPA 18:01 LOCAL TIME 15:01 GMT 0027 www.spa.gov.sa/w1284067