Saudi Arabia has suspended travel to Kenya for its citizens and temporarily halted the issuance of visas and entry for people arriving from the country as part of measures to prevent the spread of Ebola.
The restrictions, announced through Saudi state media, follow assessments by health authorities on the status of the Ebola outbreak in Kenya and the potential risk of further transmission.
Under the new measures, Saudi citizens have been barred from travelling to Kenya, while individuals seeking to enter the kingdom from Kenya will also be affected by the temporary suspension.
The decision adds Kenya to a list of countries facing travel-related precautionary measures introduced by Saudi Arabia in response to Ebola transmission risks.
According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the kingdom first introduced the restrictions in July 2019 before expanding their scope in May 2026 as part of efforts to strengthen public health safeguards.
The development comes as Kenya continues to manage an outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, which has so far recorded nine confirmed cases and two deaths.
However, no new infections had been reported for 10 consecutive days as of October 30, according to local media reports citing the Ministry of Health.
Health authorities have indicated that all nine confirmed cases are linked to a single cluster originating from an imported infection, with no evidence of transmission beyond the known contacts.
Kenya confirmed its first case on October 6 after a Kenyan man who had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo travelled back to the country through Uganda.
The patient arrived in Nairobi on October 3 and was admitted to hospital, where he died two days later.
Subsequent contact tracing and surveillance identified eight additional infections, comprising four family members or relatives and four healthcare workers who had attended to the initial patient before Ebola was suspected.
The second death was reported on October 23, involving a 65-year-old woman who was a close relative of the initial patient. She developed symptoms on October 13 and was already under quarantine when her condition deteriorated.
Despite the absence of new infections, Kenya has not yet been declared Ebola-free.
Health experts require 42 consecutive days without a new confirmed case before an outbreak can be officially declared over, subject to the relevant public health authorities' assessment and recognition.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Ebola outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on May 17, although it determined that the situation did not meet the threshold for a pandemic emergency under the International Health Regulations.
Ebola is a severe viral disease that can cause haemorrhagic fever and has a high fatality rate. The virus spreads through direct contact with the blood, bodily fluids and contaminated materials of infected people or those who have died from the disease.
It was first identified in 1976 following simultaneous outbreaks in Nzara, Sudan, and Yambuku, in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. The disease takes its name from the Ebola River, located near the village where one of the initial outbreaks occurred.
