Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday that it was suspending travel with nine countries over the spread of the new coronavirus.
The temporary measure affected travel with the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, South Korea, Egypt, Italy and Iraq.
Saudi Arabia had already banned travel to Iran, which has over 190 virus deaths. The majority of cases in the Middle East can be traced back to Iran.
Four new cases were registered in the Kingdom, including in an American arrival who visited Italy and the Philippines. This brings Saudi Arabia’s tally to 15 on Monday.
The American visitor has been transferred to a hospital in Riyadh, the capital. The rest involve a Saudi national who had contact with an infected person in al-Qatif, and two Bahraini women who came from Iraq.
The interior ministry announced on Sunday a lockdown in al-Qatif.
The entertainment authority announced on Monday the closure of leisure attractions Riyadh Boulevard and Winter Wonderland, over virus concerns.
Precautions on Sunday included suspending all educational and Quranic activities in mosques in Saudi Arabia.
All public and private schools and universities would also be suspended from Monday until further notice, state media said, adding that distance learning measures would be adopted.
On Saturday, the government restricted land crossings with Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE to commercial trucks with passenger arrivals limited to three airports.
In the UAE, a regional travel and tourism exhibition in Dubai in April has been postponed to late June due to the coronavirus outbreak, organizers said on Monday.
Arabian Travel Market, one of the Middle East’s biggest travel fairs, will now take place from June 28 to July 1 instead of April 19 to 22, due to the coronavirus outbreak.
“The announcement has been made at the earliest opportunity to give as much notice as possible to all stakeholders enabling them to make the necessary arrangements to reschedule their plans, and ensure even stronger attendance in June.”
The outgoing president of the airline Emirates, Tim Clark, was due to give one of his last interviews at the event before stepping down in June. The United Arab Emirates has reported 45 coronavirus cases, which has led to major events across the country being canceled or postponed.
Kuwait on Monday registered three new virus cases, bringing the total to 65. One patient has recovered.
The health ministry spokesman said two of the patients contracted the disease after traveling from Iran. The third had traveled to Azerbaijan.
Qatar announced on Monday it was suspending schools and universities from Tuesday, March 10 to control the coronavirus outbreak, according to the state news agency.
