RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s ban on direct travel from a number of countries came to an end on Wednesday, as the country continues to relax travel restrictions caused by the pandemic, Arab News reported.

Travellers from six countries including India, Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia, Brazil and Vietnam can now arrive in the Kingdom without having to spend 14 days outside those countries before entering Saudi Arabia.

The travelers will need a valid PCR certificate and register on the Qdoom platform 72 hours before their flight departs.

They will also need to enter institutional quarantine for five days when they arrive, regardless of their immunisation status outside the kingdom, and will need to take tests on the first and fifth days of their quarantine.

Though Saudi Arabia has eased travel from some destinations, it has been forced to implement new restrictions on some African countries after a concerning new coronavirus variant, omicron, was detected in South Africa last week.