Saudi Arabia has advised against "unnecessary travel" for its residents, especially to high-risk countries, in light of the new Omicron variant of COVID-19.
The advisory was issued by the Kingdom's public health authority, Weqaya, according to a report by the Saudi Press Agency.
The authority also recommended travellers flying into the country avoid social contact for five days, and take a PCR test if their body temperature rises or they show respiratory symptoms.
Common precautionary measures, including wearing a mask, sanitizing surface areas and taking the booster jab are all being recommended by the Saudi authority to safeguard against COVID-19.
The Kingdom reported 116 cases of COVID-19 on December 18, with 34 critical cases, and one new death. The total fatality rate stands at 8,861, while the recovery tally reached 539,981.
South Korea and the United States will cut short annual joint military drills to five days from 11 and scale back some field training, the allies said on Wednesday, after President Donald Trump ordered a substantial reduction in US participation.
An Israeli airstrike killed nine Palestinians at a police station in Gaza on Wednesday, medics said, two days after US envoy Jared Kushner ended a trip to the region that failed to push forward Donald Trump's plan to end the war in the enclave.
Thai schools conducted active shooter drills on Wednesday, as authorities moved to strengthen security measures two weeks after a 14-year-old opened fire at a school and killed at least eight people.
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