Riyadh - Mubasher: Only Saudi citizens, who received the second dose of the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine, will be able to travel abroad, an official source at the Saudi Ministry of Interior announced on Monday.

This decision, based on preventive and precautionary measures recommended by the Saudi Ministry of Health to contain COVID-19, will be effective from 9 August 2021.

Saudi Arabia has made this decision due to the spread of the new variants and the low efficacy of one vaccination dose, based on studies and scientific research, which read that two doses will protect against the new variants' complications.

The Ministry of Interior has excluded children under the age of 12, who will be required to obtain a valid health insurance policy, and individuals recovered from COVID-19, provided that they have spent less than six months from being infected with the virus.

The decision has also excluded those who recovered from the virus and received one dose of the vaccine.