Dubai: Saudi Arabia has banned the entry of camels at scared sites to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among pilgrims, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
The move comes as part of a slew of measures taken by the Kingdom to combat the outbreak of COVID-19.
According to SPA, the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture said that camels will be banned from entering the scared sites in Mecca during the upcoming Hajj season to prevent any possible spread of viruses that can be transmitted from animals to humans.
The ministry emphasised that it will provide veterinarians around the clock to test sheep coming from Jeddah port to ensure they are safe and free of diseases, adding that checkpoints will be installed at the entry points of Mecca to prevent the entry of any sheep without testing them.
Over the past few weeks, Saudi Arabia has reported an upward trend in the daily COVID-19 infections. The Kingdom saw new COVID-19 cases going up yesterday, with 905 new infections recorded.
COVID cases in the Kingdom had been fluctuating around the 500-mark for the past weeks before rising above 1,000 recently for the first time since February 20, 2022.
