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.
One of Afghanistan's worst earthquakes killed more than 800 people and injured at least 2,800, authorities said on Monday, as helicopters ferried the wounded to hospital after they were plucked from the rubble of homes being combed for survivors.
Israel pushed tanks deeper into Gaza City and detonated explosives-laden vehicles in one suburb as airstrikes killed at least 19 people on Monday, Palestinian officials and witnesses said.
India's Narendra Modi told Vladimir Putin on Monday that India and Russia stood shoulder to shoulder even in difficult times after the Kremlin chief cast the Indian prime minister as his "dear friend" and gave him a lift in his armoured limousine.
Chinese President Xi Jinping urged leaders to leverage their "mega-scale market", while Russian President Vladimir Putin showed support for Xi's ambition for a new global security and economic order that poses a challenge to the US during a regional summit on Monday.
South Korea has suspended a military radio broadcast that transmits to North Korea as part of measures aimed at easing tensions with Pyongyang, Seoul's defence ministry said on Monday.
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