Riyadh, March 08, 2020, SPA -- In addition to the decision of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, temporarily restricting entry to its territory for arrivals from the United Arab Emirates, the State of Kuwait and the Kingdom of Bahrain to air ports only. 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 part of its efforts to control the new Coronavirus (COVID19) and prevent its entry and spread, And out of concern to protect the health of citizens and residents and ensure their safety, the Kingdom’s government decided to temporarily suspend the travel of citizens and residents 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), 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 mentioned 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 01:59 LOCAL TIME 22:59 GMT 0020 www.spa.gov.sa/w1283599